Kiss Me
by Koen D
Summary: Obsessed with a hybrid between an Uchiha and a Hyuuga, Orochimaru creates a potion to make Sasuke feel attracted to Hinata, but the result isn't quite like what he wants. Instead of making his student want the Hyuuga girl, the potion depletes his chakra and the only way for it to recover was him kissing her. So her first kiss certainly wouldn't be Naruto. SasuHina.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

 **A/N:** English isn't my first language so please be prepared for some grammar or spelling errors. If you find any errors, please don't hesitate to PM me or tell me in the comment section.

As you can see, this story is rated M, so it certainly will have some sensitive scenes, but I wouldn't make it too explicit.

Hopefully, you can leave me a review. It will encourage me a lot.

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 **1**

Hinata couldn't believe in her eyes.

Uchiha Sasuke – a traitor and S-ranked criminal was standing right there in front of her. He didn't look so well though. His skin was pale and there were dark circles under his eyes. His dark hair stuck to his forehead which was covered with sweat. He was panting heavily and every breath he took was making his shoulders tremble slightly. His eyes were bright red and they're staring straight at her and it'd be a lie if she said they didn't scare her at all. In fact, she was frozen to the spot.

In a brief moment, she wondered why he was looking at her like that. She had never interacted with him before and she even doubted he knew of her existence. However, by the look in his eyes, she knew not only did he know her, but he also was pissed off by her, which she might understand why. It's probably because he thought she was going to tell Naruto and Konoha would form a unit to hunt him down. And maybe he was right. She really would tell Naruto about this encounter, because she knew how desperately he wanted his friend back.

After the war, Sasuke just… disappeared. Tsunade had sent lots of units to find him, but they never got any success. It was like he had vaporized into thin air. So seeing him now, right here, was too astonishing that she thought she might be dreaming.

Team 8 was having a mission and they decided to set up a camp for the night. It was Hinata's turn to watch when she felt a sign of chakra somewhere in the forest. Because the chakra signal was weak, she thought it wouldn't be a big threat, and also because she didn't want to disturb her teammates' sleep, she went to check it alone. Of course, she didn't expect it's Sasuke who that chakra signal belonged to.

 _What if I capture him and bring him back to Konoha?_ The thought popping up in her mind gave her a shiver. Normally, trying to capture Sasuke would be suicidal, but now he was almost out of chakra. Her Byakugan could confirm that, which meant she had a chance. And if she still couldn't capture him by herself, she could at least keep him here for some time until her teammates arrived and together they could capture him and bring him back to Konoha. That prospect almost brought a smile to her face. Naruto would be happy, he would smile again and he would notice her.

Hinata inwardly scolded herself. Now it's not the time to daydream, she needed to focus on Sasuke. Even if his chakra was low, he was still dangerous and even a small mistake could cost her her life. He must have had a furious fight before he got here and she wondered who could exhaust him that much. Whoever they were, they must be very strong, which brought up a problem. If Sasuke hadn't already killed them, they might be chasing him right now and she certainly wouldn't want to encounter them. Sasuke was in no shape to fight and protect both of them against someone so strong was impossible. And as if that wasn't bad enough, her Byakugan just found another problem. His chakra was decreasing and she couldn't understand why. Right now he wasn't doing any fighting so his chakra should have remained stable, but no, it continued to deplete rapidly and if she didn't do anything to stop it, he would die.

"Come with me." His hoarse voice cut through her train of thoughts.

"W-What…" Her pale widened and it took her a moment to make sure that she had heard him correctly.

"I need you." He sounded very impatient as his chakra depleted more rapidly. She was sure that he meant her to save him, but she didn't know how. She wasn't a medic, she could treat small external injuries, but an injury this serious was out of her ability. Hell, she didn't even know where his injury was. Her Byakugan couldn't detect any injury on his body. He would need Tsunade or Sakura, but both of them weren't here and apparently, he didn't have much time left. At this rate, he would die within 15 minutes, and she couldn't let that happen.

Sasuke suddenly collapsed on his knees. A hand shot up to squeeze his left chest while the other hand was propping on the ground to support his upper body. He was having trouble breathing.

She rushed towards him. All she could do right now was transfer her chakra to him. She wasn't sure if his body would accept that, but she had to try. If she did nothing, he would die, and if she let him die, Naruto would never forgive her.

"C-Calm down." She said in a panic. "I'll transfer my chakra to you…" The moment she was near him, all thoughts that this might be a dream disappeared. This was real. He was going to die. She put a hand on his shoulder to push him lay down, all the while praying that his body would accept her chakra. Suddenly, she realized it's not him that was lying down, but her. "W-What…" Her words died in her throat immediately as he dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers. Too shocked, she could do nothing but stay still, and he took that as an opportunity to deepen the kiss.

She started to struggle against him, but it's all futile. He was straddling her with his legs pressed against her waist and his hands gripped her wrists tightly. He was much stronger than her and she couldn't move an inch. The only thing on her body that wasn't immobile right now was her lips and they were being ravished by Sasuke. He didn't kiss her gently at all. In fact, she was sure her lips would be red and swollen after he was done kissing her, which apparently wouldn't happen anytime soon. She tried to purse her lips to stop him, but when he bit her, she almost screamed in terror which granted him the opening he needed. He licked her lips, sucked at it and bit her one more time before letting his tongue enter her mouth. It was wet as it's looking for hers.

"S-Sto…" She tried to say, but he didn't hear her at all. All he seemed to care about right now was kissing her. She couldn't understand anything at all. He was almost out of chakra, she should have pushed him away easily, but she suddenly couldn't. Now it's her whose chakra was decreasing. And Sasuke, his chakra was back. It's impossible. Chakra couldn't recover that fast.

Sasuke gave a hiss when she bit him, hard. He stopped kissing her, now looking at her with so much fury in his crimson eyes. He was pissed off. His tongue darted out to lick the drop of blood on his lips. "That's not how you bite while kissing." He snarled.

"L-Let m-me g…" She stuttered, her face blushed brightly. This was so embarrassing. This wasn't how her first kiss was supposed to be. He shouldn't have been her first kiss.

"No." Was all his said before he dipped his head to capture her lips in a passionate kiss again. "Bite me again…" He said between kisses. "And I'll make sure you'd regret it."

His kisses were not innocent at all. They were ardent, as if he was hungry for something from her and the more he kissed her, the hungrier he became. His lips never left hers and there was no place in her mouth that his tongue didn't touch. As if to revenge, he bit her bottom lip, almost sent her to a panic attack. The sound of their kissing filled her ears and it gave her a shiver. She wanted to scream or yell at him to stop, to tell him that he was the biggest jerk in the world, but she couldn't. All she could do was panting heavily because he was taking all of her breath away with every one of his kisses.

She vaguely realized that his hands had released her wrists to cradle her face. It was a perfect opportunity to push him away, but she was suddenly too tired that she couldn't even move her arms. She wondered if this was what kissing did to people. If kissing was this exhausting, she would never want to kiss anyone, even if it's Naruto. Despite her mind screaming at her to move, to kick at his abdomen and to slap at his face, her body was immobile. He didn't restrain her, why couldn't she move?

After what felt like an eternity, he finally stopped. However, he was still straddling her and apparently he didn't plan on getting off her any time soon. His lips were red and swollen and she was sure her lips looked just like his. Both of them was panting heavily, mostly because of lacking air.

Her chest was heaving, trying to take in as much air as it could, and he wondered why such a petite girl like her could have chest that big. Her face was red as a tomato and it looked like she could faint at any time, which wasn't far from the truth. He had to admit though, that she looked pretty, fortunately. If she was an old ugly lady, he would rather die than kiss her. And even when he died, he would still turn to ghost to hunt Orochimaru down every night.

Hinata knew that he was evaluating her, but he looked so uncaring and nonchalant that she couldn't tell what he was thinking of her, which only made her boil with anger. How dare he looked so disinterested when he had stolen her first kiss just a moment ago – the very kiss that she had saved her whole life for Naruto.

Now when the kiss had stopped, she finally calmed down enough to think and realize she couldn't move because her chakra was low. She only had ¼ of her chakra left and Sasuke… she couldn't believe it. His chakra had fully recovered. "H-How…" She said in a low voice because she was too tired that even speaking was hurt.

"You're tired?" It didn't sound like a question but a statement. "Apparently, this has an effect on you too." He mused.

Her pale eyes were widened. He acted like they were having an ordinary conversation about the weather and not about him stealing her first kiss. And he was still straddling her! "G-get off m-me…" She yelled, or at least she thought she was yelling at him. Her head was getting dizzy and her vision was blurry. She struggled to keep her eyes open, but her eyelids felt so heavy as if they weighed a thousand pounds. Why was she suddenly so tired? He only kissed her, they didn't do any fighting, and where did her chakra go? The more she tried to think, the more it didn't make any sense to her.

Just as she thought she was going to give up, her ears picked up a rustling sound. Someone was coming. Her teammates were coming and they were going to save her from this jerk who was still straddling her. "Shit!" She heard him curse and before she could give a sigh of relief as he finally got off her, he threw her on his shoulder.

"No! L-Let m-me go!" She started to struggle on his shoulder, her fists were pounding at his back with all the strength she had left, but it's futile. He didn't appear to care at all. He just let her do whatever she wanted, as long as he had her on his shoulder. Her struggle didn't last long though. She only got to punch at his lower back 3 times before she couldn't anymore. She was too exhausted and all she could do right now was stay still and mutter "Let me go" or "You jerk!" a few times.

"Hinata!" Her head rose at her teammate's voice. Kiba was standing right there and Akamaru was growling beside him.

"Kiba-kun…" The relief could be heard in her voice. She couldn't see him clearly due to her blurry vision, but she was sure that voice belonged to her teammate. She had listened to that voice for years and there was no way she could mistake it with someone else's.

"You bastard let her go!" Kiba hissed.

Sasuke turned around to look at Kiba. The three commas in his red eyes were spinning rapidly. His life at this point was bad enough, he didn't need anyone to take away the only person who could keep him alive. Although he could easily kill the Inuzuka boy, he decided not to. For now, he would settle for a quick and safe escape.

He threw the kunai so fast that Kiba almost couldn't avoid it, though apparently, Sasuke didn't intend for it to hit him. The kunai embedded itself at the trunk behind Kiba and exploded just a few seconds later. The smoke created by the explosion certainly would make it impossible for Kiba's sharp nose to track him down. Besides, right after the tag attached to the kunai exploded, he had put Kiba under a genjustu which would dispel by itself a few hours later. He would be far away by that time.

"Don't blame me." He said before disappearing with Hinata who now had passed out due to exhaustion. "Blame Orochimaru."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

 **A/N:** I was having a hard time writing this chapter. I know how I want it to be, but it's not easy writing it in English. I hope it won't be too difficult for you guys to read this chapter.

Thank you for the reviews, favs and follows. They truly motivate me a lot.

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 **2**

Kiba woke up to a white room.

As soon as the boy realized he was still alive, he bolted up on his bed. His brown eyes darted around the room to see where he was and more importantly, to find his teammate. The white walls and machines besides his bed let him know he was at the hospital, but that fact didn't relieve him at all. In fact, he was even more worried. Usually, teammates would be put together in the same room, unless they're in critical condition. Hinata not being here could only mean that she was seriously injured, or Sasuke had successfully kidnapped her. Although it wasn't confirmed yet, he knew it was the latter, because Sasuke was too strong to be stopped. The only person who could stop him was Naruto, and he hadn't even been there. He was busy begging Tsunade to let him go after his friend, didn't care that he had never had any success before.

Sasuke was the one kidnapping her, but it's his fault to let that happen. He could have saved her, if only he had been stronger. Sasuke was cruel and cool-hearted, who knew what he could do to her? He certainly wouldn't kill her, because if he wanted, he would have done already, but there were things that even worse than death. Would he torture her, just for fun? The big question was why he kidnapped her. There were only two reasons Kiba could think of. One was Sasuke want Byakugan. Her bloodline limit had always been the reason for her kidnapping since she was a child. And the other - the one that he absolutely dreaded, was Sasuke want to restore his clan with her.

Kiba had to suppress an urge to throw up at that thought. As much as he wanted to deny, the second reason sounded more plausible. Everyone knew Sasuke had two goals. One was to kill his brother and the other was to restore his clan, which would need a woman. Now he had accomplished the first goal, finding a woman to restore his clan with sounded like a fair thing to do. And just think about Hinata, she was pretty, she was strong, she came from a prestigious clan and she possessed Byakugan. If Sasuke had a child with her, that child would possess two bloodline limits and become the ultimate weapon. Overall, she was the perfect candidate to become Sasuke's mate.

 _That bastard!_ Kiba squeezed his fist tightly at the thought. He winced as a pain shot through his left shoulder and only then did he realize he had bandage all over his body. He tried to leave the bed, but could only move his upper body, from his waist to his toes was immobile. He had never wished he had Naruto's fast healing ability as much as he did at this moment. Sasuke could torture her or even rape her right now, and here he was, immobile and useless in this room. And where the hell was Naruto? He had to tell Naruto about this, about his precious friend kidnapping his another friend and he was better not taking Sasuke's side this time. Because if he did, Kiba swore he would kill him with his bare hands.

Kiba tried to move again. He wasn't going to give up. If he couldn't walk, he would crawl. If he himself couldn't fight, he would find help. He couldn't stay here and be useless while Hinata was suffering somewhere.

"I'm glad you're awake." Tsunade's voice stopped his struggling. The blonde woman walked to him and following her was his teammate Shino. "I know Inuzukas don't like being immobile, but your burns are pretty serious, so try to stay still for once."

"Tsunade-sama…" Kiba began. "You have to listen to me. Hinata, she was…"

"That's exactly what I'm here for," Tsunade said. She sat down on the chair beside the bed with her arms crossing under her chest. "She has gone missing. I've sent several units to search for her, but they haven't found anything."

"When I got to you, Hinata has already gone. The explosion made it impossible for my bugs to track her. And you're seriously injured, so I took you back to Konoha first." Shino said. The guilty could be heard clearly in his voice. He had abandoned Hinata to save Kiba, and although it was the right thing to do, it didn't lessen his guilty.

"Don't feel guilty," Tsunade said. "You've done right. If you had done otherwise, you might have lost both of them." Then she turned to Kiba. "Now tell me everything you know. Hyuuga clan has been bugging me forever since…"

"Sasuke's kidnapped her." The three words successfully silenced the room. Tsunade's eyes widen and Shino's shoulders tensed.

"What did you say?" She said in surprise.

"Sasuke's kidnapped her," Kiba repeated. "I know it's hard to believe, but I saw it with my own eyes." He began reciting what had happened, didn't leave any details out. If they wanted to find Sasuke and rescuing Hinata, they would need any bit of information they could gather. Sadly, there weren't much. When he finished, silence once again fell over the room, until Tsunade's voice broke it.

"I guess it's unnecessary to ask why he kidnapped her, right?" As the two boys nodded their heads, she continued. "Either he wants Byakugan or an heir, but I'd like to think he wants both."

"Tsunade-sama, we have to find her immediately. The more we delay, the more Hinata suffers." Kiba said urgently.

"I know, but this isn't an ordinary kidnapping. This is Sasuke we're talking about." Her voice became sterner, daring the two boys to say otherwise and she knew they wanted to do just that. These kids didn't care that they're in a complicated situation. The only thing they cared about was getting their female teammate back, even if it could cost them their lives. And as the Hokage, her job was to stop them from doing something reckless. "We need a plan."

"We don't have time for a plan." Kiba almost yelled at her. "Hinata is in danger. Who knows what that bastard is doing to her. He might have been torturing her right now as we're talking."

"Do you know dangerous Sasuke is? Even if we find out his whereabouts, there is no guarantee that we could defeat him and rescue Hinata. He might as well kill everyone who finds him." Tsunade could barely contain her frustration. Really, it's like she was talking to Naruto right now. "And I can't afford to lose any more shinobi."

"Kiba, calm down. She's right." Shino stepped in as he noticed his teammate was about to protest. Though he looked calm and composed, under that surface was a storm that was raging. If something happened to Hinata, he could never forgive himself.

"First, I would need to inform the Hyuuga clan about this. Hiashi surely will have my head on his plate when he knows Sasuke has kidnapped his precious daughter, but what else could I do?" Tsunade let out a sigh. "He's her father. He has the right to know."

"What about Naruto?" Shino asked.

"Knowing that Sasuke has kidnapped Hinata would only fuel his determination to search for his friend, which could be both a bad and good thing, but…" She sighed. "He is the only person who can handle Sasuke, so we, of course, will need him."

"Tsunade-sama, how much time do I need to fully recover?" Kiba was hoping that if he recovered fast enough, he could be part of the rescuing team. Even if he couldn't fight, he could still be useful by using his nose to track Hinata's scent.

"It'll take at least 3 weeks," Tsunade said. "And no, you won't join Hinata rescuing team."

"But I…" He started protesting.

"I said no, Kiba." She raised a hand indicating this was final and she wouldn't change her mind no matter what he said. "The team needs strong healthy shinobi, not an injured one who can't even move on his own."

Kiba had to bite his tongue to stop himself from groaning in frustration. While they were planning to rescue Hinata, he couldn't even move his legs. The feeling of being useless filled his stomach and it made him want to vomit. If only he was stronger…

"Kiba," Shino's voice pulled him out of his depression and a hand was put on his shoulder. "If you can't be a part of Hinata rescuing team, at least have faith in her. She's a strong girl, she won't let Sasuke win without fighting."

Kiba's brown eyes looked up at his teammate in surprise. That was one of the longest sentences Shino had ever said to him. The boy usually didn't talk much, but when he did, it always had a big impact on people. Shino was right. She was a strong girl, she would fight and she would survive.

Tsunade gave them a nod of approval. Besides Shikamaru, Shino was one of few shinobi who she could trust in situations like this one. Not easily being invoked by emotions, he definitely would make the best captain for the rescuing team. She already had a list of shinobi in her mind for this team.

Her fingers gently massaged her temples, trying to not wince as she felt a headache was coming. This was exactly why she had been drinking more and more since she became the Hokage. After 2 years of searching for Sasuke without any result, she finally got wind of him, but not in the way she wanted. Of all people he could kidnap, he just had to kidnap the eldest daughter of the Hyuga leader. Although she wasn't an heiress anymore, she still played an important role in the Hyuuga clan.

Naruto had been searching for him everywhere, had been trying everything in his power to convince the other Hokages that he could be trusted. Although no one knew where he was, at least he hadn't caused any troubles for these past 2 years. By kidnapping Hinata, Sasuke had destroyed everything Naruto had worked so hard for. His chance of being pardoned for all the sins he had done was slim to none, though it's not like he would ever care.

Tsunade raised a hand to her chin, the wheels in her head were turning rapidly to ponder over the situation. She was worried about his motivations. Although she herself had said it was Sasuke want Byakugan and an heir, something didn't feel right. Kidnapping someone and force them to bear his child wasn't something Sasuke would do. Actually, she even thought that he didn't want to have kids and would let Uchiha clan die with him. Now, after 2 years, he suddenly changed his mind and decided to have kids? No, it couldn't be simple like that. Somehow, she had a feeling that there was much more behind this whole thing than she could ever imagine.

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She felt warm.

Her pale eyes fluttered open. The first thing she saw was a grey fabric which her face was burying in. She felt confined like something was wrapping itself around her. She tried to move but moving only made it hold her more tightly. The girl had to suppress a gasp as her face was shoved to its chest again. _Wait? Chest? Is it a human?_ Her pale eyes traveled up, passed a neck, a chin, and finally settled on a male face.

Her breath hitched in her throat before she screamed in terror. The man's eyes opened immediately at her high-pitched scream but before he could process what was happening, her feet kicked him right at his abdomen and he fell out of the bed on the ground with a loud thud. "What the hell?" He grunted, putting a hand on his abdomen to ease the pain there.

Hinata was in sheer panic. He had stolen her first kiss and now he even slept with her in a very… compromising position. Being a very shy girl, the closet she had ever got to a man was when she slept next to her teammates and of course, they never had their arms around her waist and her face buried in their chests.

She scrambled backward gracelessly and tightened the blanket around her body. The only good thing was that she still had her clothes on. If she wasn't, she was sure she could die right here. He had been sleeping with her, that was obvious, but what else had he done while she was sleeping? Her head was running with thousands of images and none of them was innocent. Her face was red as a tomato and her heart was racing in her cage ribs so fast she could even hear the pounding sounds in her own ears and it wasn't a comfortable experience at all. The worst thing was she might faint at any time and she definitely wouldn't want to faint when he was around. "What did you do?" Her bad habit of stutter suddenly disappeared along with her shy nature. She swore if he did something while she was sleeping, she would strangle him to death.

"Calm down." He said as he climbed onto the bed. He noticed the girl was scooting to the corner, trying to keep as much distance from him as possible.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" She yelled at him and he tried not to wince at her high voice. God, where did the shy girl go? Now she was acting like a crazy woman. He had thought he could tolerate her because of her shy and quiet nature, but it looked like he was wrong. She was just as loud and annoying as other girls, at least she was when she got mad.

"I didn't do anything." She looked at him for a moment before deciding he was telling the truth. Well, he had to say the girl was quite naïve and credulous, or she was pretending to be and would strike a palm at him when he wasn't paying attention.

"Where am I?" She looked around the room with an anxious expression on her face. It was a small room which had a bed, a wooden table with a glass of water on it and 2 chairs. "Why am I here?" She averted her eyes from the glass to look at him, waiting for an answer.

"You're here to keep me alive." He said, maintaining eye contact to show her that he wasn't lying, although he was sure she was thinking he had gone insane, not was lying.

"What are you talking about? I don't understand." Her browns frowned in confusion.

"I have to kiss you to replenish my chakra." He said with a hint of frustration in his voice.

"W-What? Are you insane?" He was kidding her, right? There was no way something like that could be possible.

"I wish I was." He said as he started leaving the bed to get himself a glass of water. He felt her gaze following him but didn't say anything more.

"H-How? W-Why?" She asked, finally calm down enough to lose her hold on the blanket. He didn't look like he would jump on her anyway.

"It's all Orochimaru's doing." He began and when she didn't say anything, he took it as a cue to continue. "When I was sixteen, Orochimaru told me he was developing a potion that not only can maximize my power but also my future kids', but I didn't really care at that time because I already had the cursed seal. A week later, I killed him, or at least I thought I did. He is still alive though." He suddenly looked straight at her eyes, indicating that things were starting to get serious. "Five days ago, I went to Orochimaru's old hideout to search for something that could give me power. It has been abandoned for almost 3 years and of course, he wasn't there anymore. At his old lab, I found the potion he had told me about, and I took it thinking that it can give me power."

"But it doesn't, does it?" Her voice was low as she started seeing where things were going to.

"As it turns out, he's been obsessed with a hybrid between an Uchiha and a Hyuuga for a long time. Orochimaru chose you because your bloodline is strong and the potion was meant to make me feel attracted to you. What he told me about the potion giving me power is a lie. But, I killed him before he could perfect it. The potion is imperfect. And the result is, it doesn't make me want you, it depletes my chakra and the only way for it to recover is kissing you." As he was talking, he could feel an urge of killing filled his entire being. Even when he wasn't around, Orochimaru still managed to fuck his life up.

Sasuke had to admit it's partly his fault though. If he hadn't been too reckless and impatient to gain power, he wouldn't have taken the potion without examining it carefully first. He guessed Orochimaru could never expect him to return to his old lab and took the potion, and when he knew, he certainly would laugh at his face for being too stupid.

"If you took the potion when Orochimaru wasn't around, how do you know you have to kiss me to replenish your chakra?" She asked. Her anxiety level was increasing steadily.

"I can feel it. As soon as I took the potion, I know I have to kiss you to replenish my chakra, and if I don't, you know, chakra depletion means death." He paused for a moment before continuing. "And we have another problem here."

Hinata's ears perked up at this. Another problem? This problem was bad enough, now they had another one? Her life surely couldn't get any worse. "What problem?"

"Aside from kissing you, I have to stay close to you to maintain my energy level. It's not as serious as the chakra depletion, because I won't die like I will if I don't kiss you, but I'm weak without you. The further I'm away from you, the weaker I become." He explained. "That's why I slept with you earlier."

"And the potion weakens me when you kiss me, right?" She mused, finally understood why she suddenly became tired while kissing him.

"I'm afraid so. Orochimaru probably wants to make it easier for me when I, you know, do it with you. He knows you won't let me have sex with you without a fight." Sasuke winced inwardly as he continued. "But it only takes half of your chakra to fully replenish mine, you still have a half left, so it won't be a big problem." Orochimaru had calculated very carefully. He let her have half of her chakra left because... well, sex might be exhausting for a petite girl like her. His mentor was really a sick bastard.

Sasuke noticed her face was getting red and she immediately tightened her hold on the blanket around her body. Just the mention of sex was enough to make her fluster. "How could it not be a big problem?" She cried out. "A half is…"

"I'll protect you." He cut off her words and her face was even redder than before. She knew he did it for himself, not because he really cared for her, but when he said it like that, it really made her fluster, and she inwardly scolded herself for that.

"But if it only takes half of my chakra to fully replenish yours, why did I pass out the last time? I'm supposed to still have half left, right?" She asked, trying to ease her fluster by changing to another topic.

"Did you have a fight before you found me?" He asked and when she nodded her head, he continued. "Some amount of your chakra had been used in that fight, plus half of your chakra the potion depleted from you made you only had ¼ chakra left, thus you passed out due to exhaustion."

"So the potion has an effect on me through you?" She muttered quietly, not really expecting a reply from him since it's already too obvious.

He looked at her to gauge her reaction. She could cry, could say he was a jerk and it's all his fault not hers for all he cared about. If she's willing to help him, then that's good, and if she wasn't, he would force her just like he did when he stole her first kiss. Sasuke would never tell anyone this, but he actually enjoyed the kiss, and he wondered if it's the potion making him feel that way.

He had survived the Uchiha massacre, had made it out alive in many dangerous situations and had even been through the great shinobi war, how could he let himself die over some stupid kisses? His brother had sacrificed a lot to give him life, the least he could do to repay him was to live that life, even if it meant he had to kiss this girl who had had a crush on Naruto since she was a little girl. How ironic it was.

"Where is Orochimaru? He made that potion, he certainly can fix it, right?" Her calm reaction surprised him, but just a little bit. She, after all, was the former heiress of the Hyuuga clan.

"That's exactly what I'm about to tell you. We need to find Orochimaru and have him fix me." He said.

"Do you know where he is?" Only years of Hyuga upbring kept her from crumpling right here.

"He's in the Lighting Country, and don't ask me how I know. I have my way." He said as his hand pulled a folded map out from his pocket. He spread the map on the table and motioned for her to come over and have a look at it. However, the girl didn't move at all. She looked like she had been frozen to the spot.

"The L-Lighting Country? I-It will take at least 4 months to get there." She cried out in hopelessness. Please God, let this just be a nightmare!

"Well, that's the only way." He shrugged. If she thought she was the only one suffering from this then she was wrong. He didn't want it any more than she did.

"No, it's not." She exclaimed. "How about we return to Konoha and let Tsunade-sama fix you. She is the greatest medic in the world, I'm sure she can help you."

"I can't go back to that village." He frowned.

"Why not? Naruto-kun really wants you back. He's never stopped searching for you in these past 2 years." She tried to convince him, to show him that returning to Konoha would be their best option.

"I'd rather die than return to that village." He almost growled out every word.

"Why can't you just save us lots of troubles by putting your ego aside and returning to Konoha?" She started to get frustrated. He was such a stubborn boy.

"I said we go to the Lighting Country and find Orochimaru and we'll do just that." He said, indicating that this was final and there was nothing she could do to change his mind.

"You're not in the position to demand here." She pursed her lips to a thin line. "If you don't return to Konoha, I won't let you kiss me."

"Oh, really?" He smirked, looking at her with a hint of amusement in his dark eyes. "Remember how you're powerless against me when I stole your first kiss?"

Her face immediately burst into flame and she stuttered in embarrassment. "T-That's different. I let m-my guard d-down because I thought you're… mmm." She couldn't talk anymore, not when he was kissing her. He was fast, too fast she didn't even see him move before he was in front of her with his hands encradling her face and his lips pressing on hers. She started struggling against him. Her hands were put on his chest to push him away, but it's futile because he's much stronger than her. She could push him as much as she wanted and he still didn't move an inch.

One of his hand left her face to wrap around her waist pulling her closer to him. Her breasts were pressed against his chest and he had to admit that it was a nice feeling. He, after all, was still a man. The girl was quite stubborn though. She was still struggling against him even when he already locked her in his arms. He could feel her hands pushing at his chest, but as he deepened the kiss, they stopped pushing and squeezed the front of his shirt instead and he wondered if she was aware of that.

A small whimper could be heard as his tongue entered her mouth. It intertwined with hers, trying to get it into his mouth, which of course she refused to. She bit him, but that only made him kiss her harder. In fact, he quite liked it when she bit him. He liked it rough.

His hand tangled in her indigo hair, tilting her head upward to get a better access to her mouth. He wondered if he should push her lay down and straddle her like the last time because she was a little too short for him and his neck was getting hurt from bending too low.

He licked her bottom lip before gently sucking at it. She gasped when he bit her lip, making it impossible for her to close her mouth no matter how desperately she wanted to. Her hands were meant to push him away, but now all they were doing were feeling the taut muscle in his chest through the thin fabric of his shirt.

Her lips felt nice and soft against his and that was one thing he wouldn't complain about. She had a nice body too. It fit perfectly in his arms and although she was a little too short for him, it's not a big problem. They could always kiss on the bed with him straddling her, or her straddling him, both were fine with him.

Sasuke only stopped when they're out of breath. Her lips were red and swollen from all the kissing they'd been doing. Her face was flushed and her shoulders were trembling helplessly. Her hands were still gripping his shirt tightly and she looked like she wanted nothing more than to slap him really hard at his face. He didn't know why, but when she got mad, she looked… _cute_. He quickly banished that thought though. The word _cute_ didn't exist in his dictionary.

"See?" His breath tickled the side of her face as he whispered huskily into her ear. "You can't stop me."

"Y-You…" She began, but it seemed she couldn't get a word out. Her pale eyes were glistening with unshed tears and he actually felt bad about it. She was probably thinking that he's the biggest jerk in the world and she was right. He really was the biggest jerk in the world. He was about to open his mouth to say something but stopped when she abruptly walked past him toward the table.

She grasped the glass of water between her dainty hands and squeezed it with all strength she had left. He shrugged, thinking that she was just frustrated and wanted to throw a tantrum, but as some cracks appeared on the glass, he finally realized what she was trying to do. He rushed toward her, but it's too late.

The glass broke in her hands. Small pieces of glasses fell on the ground and she only kept the largest one. She saw him rush to her and he was fast, but when he reached her, she already had the large fragment of glass press against her neck. "Return to Konoha or I'll kill myself."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer** : I own nothing.

 **A/N** : I'm not really satisfied with this chapter, but well, here is chapter 3. Enjoy!

Thank you for the reviews, favs and follows. They truly motivate me a lot.

* * *

 **3**

"Return to Konoha or I'll kill myself."

For the first time in his life, Sasuke faltered. He had been in lots of dangerous situations and sometimes he had even prepared to die, not that he had many things to live for. He guessed it's not because he was afraid of dying but of dying like this. He might not mind dying in a battle with a tough opponent, but dying because he couldn't kiss a girl? It's ridiculous. His brother must be rolling in his grave right now.

Although he said it himself that he would force her if she didn't want to help him, the truth was he couldn't. With half of her chakra gone, he, of course, could always use genjutsu to control her, but he didn't think that would be a good ideal. In fact, it would be very troublesome. She would rebel against him the moment she was released from the genjutsu and he couldn't put her under a genjutsu 24/7 because not only would it be very exhausting for her but also him. Besides, he couldn't hurt her. Her health condition would affect him directly. Therefore, the only way for him was to somehow get her to help him willingly. He had thought convincing her to go with him would be quite easy because he heard that she was a very nice and kind girl, she certainly wouldn't let him die, but it looked like he was wrong.

She was serious, he could tell that by the look in her pale eyes. Her hands squeezed the glass so tightly it cut through her skin. Blood oozed from her palm but she paid it no mind. Right now, all she cared about was getting him back to Konoha so that she wouldn't have to endure 4 months of kissing him and also get Naruto to notice her. For a moment, Sasuke considered just go along with her and return to Konoha, but also at that moment, memories of the Uchiha Massacre came flooding back. The hopeless cries, the blood splashing in the walls and the sound of his brother's blade slice through throats of hundreds of Uchiha members… all in just one night, they made him realize he couldn't and wouldn't return to Konoha, even if it meant he would die.

She said Naruto had never stopped searching for him in these past 2 years, but he didn't care. Naruto didn't have the right to tell him how to live his life. It's his own life and it's his right to do whatever he wanted to. This girl didn't know a thing about him. She was just as oblivious as the civilians of Konoha. They took peace for granted, didn't know or care that that peace had cost his clan their lives.

She thought by pressing the glass against her neck she could get him back to Konoha, but actually, it only strengthened his determination to not come back. No one could force him into doing something he didn't want to and she was not going to be an exception.

"Go ahead." He said calmly. He could tell she was surprised by the way her pale eyes widened slightly. She looked at him like he had gone insane. "Go ahead." He repeated as if to assure her that she didn't hear him incorrectly. He really would rather die than return to Konoha.

"I-I…" She began, but again, words died in her throat. It took her a few minutes to finally get some words out. "You really hate Konoha that much?"

He didn't reply, because he didn't think it's necessary. She already knew, but it didn't mean she understood. After all, it's him who lost his entire family and clan in just one night, not her. Those who didn't go through it wouldn't understand no matter how hard they tried.

"Naruto-kun," She continued. "He cares for you…"

"I don't fucking care what Naruto wants." He snapped at her. "You're such a selfish girl, Hinata." Unknowing to him, when he said her name like that, it really sent a shiver down her spine. Maybe it's because she wasn't used to hearing him say her name. After all, there wasn't much communication between them before. "Naruto wants this, Naruto wants that, all you care about is Naruto, but have you ever considered what I want?" She opened her mouth to say something, but he beat her to it. "Konoha ordered my bother to kill our family, they made him a traitor and live a miserable life, and you expect me to return to that village and pretend like nothing happen just because it'll make Naruto happy?"

She was trembling. She thought about Naruto, about how he always said that someday he would bring his teammate back and team 7 would be completed again. She remembered sometimes Sakura's eyes would grow sad whenever she walked by their old training ground and although she said she was fine, Hinata knew she missed her teammate terribly. From what she had seen, it became very clear to her how desperately they wanted him back and she could almost imagine Naruto's bright smile and Sakura's happy tears if their teammate's really back someday. But did Sasuke want any of that? Of course, he didn't. And that's when she realized nothing could be the same anymore. Naruto couldn't bring back their old days, because everything had changed.

Although she did hear Sasuke's story and she really felt sorry for him, she was never close to him enough to actually hear it from _him_. She only knew him through Naruto. The way Naruto talked so passionately about his wish of bringing his teammate back made her believe returning to Konoha would be the best for him, but now being with him right at this moment had proved how wrong she was.

He had lost too much, and now she was taking away his right to live his life the way he wanted. He was right. She was selfish, and that disgusted her. She was disgusted with herself. Naruto had the entire village to support him, he didn't need her, but Sasuke only had her. She was the only one who could save him. Hinata knew if she agreed to go with him to the Lighting Country, their journey wouldn't be an easy one, but she was ready to throw away her comfort to help him and maybe, get to know him. She would help him, and he would protect her.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, she put away the glass and looked at him with determine. "I'll help you. We'll go to the Lighting Country." She could tell he was surprised and couldn't help a proud feeling blooming in her chest. Not many people could make him surprise.

"Why?" He asked.

"I-I…" She found it hard to explain. "I want you to be free." Her answer was short, but she believed he could understand her just fine. As children of the clan leaders, they never had the privilege of living freely. There were always at least one or two rules for everything. Hinata could never escape her clan's grasp because she had a family in Konoha and lots of responsibilities to take on, but he could. He could be free and live his life the way he wanted, and she was happy to help him.

"What about Naruto?" He still couldn't believe she had given up her chance of getting her crush to notice her in order to help him. This girl was full of surprise.

"He'll be very happy if you're back, but…" She bit her lip, suddenly felt very shy. "I think he'll be even happier if you're happy. And clearly being forced to return to Konoha won't make you happy."

He was still staring at her, trying to detect any lies and that really made her fluster. She felt her face redden and she unconsciously looked away in embarrassment. After all, he had kissed her just a few minutes ago. She wondered if Uchiha could use fire jutsu by their eyes because her cheeks were heating up. God, talking about his happiness, she sounded like one of his fangirls!

She suddenly felt like she was 12 again standing in front of Naruto and offering him a jar of ointment. Her bad habit of touching her two fingers came back, but she fought it by holding the hem of her jacket tightly. He was very intimidated and even scary, but she tried to remain calm by reminding herself that he wouldn't hurt her and would even protect her. After all, how was she supposed to help him if she couldn't even stand still in his presence?

Still, it's hard to not get uncomfortable and when she was uncomfortable, she bit her lip. It's a bad move though because in bink of an eye he was in front of her with his hand holding her chin. She didn't even know humans could be that fast. She gasped in surprise and took a step back instinctively, but couldn't because he didn't let her. "W-What…?" She said nervously.

"Don't bite your lip." Was all he said before letting her chin go. As she looked at him expecting an explanation, he just shrugged. "I'll be kissing these lips for 4 months and I don't want them to be in bad shape."

Her mouth formed an O and he had to admit she looked like a kid with that expression on her face. How could this girl be a kunoichi and even eldest daughter of Hiashi he would never know.

"R-Right…" She said weakly. Her cheeks were still red and with their 4-months journey upcoming she was sure they would be red for a long time.

She concealed a sigh of relief as he walked away towards the door. Opening it, he looked at her over his shoulder and said. "Get some rest. I'll get us something to eat."

"E-Eh…?" She shuffled toward him until she was relatively close to him. "But you have to stay close to me to maintain your energy level, right?"

"I'm not that weak. Not too far is fine."

"So why did you sleep with me earlier?" She exclaimed, her face if possible was even redder.

He didn't answer her, only shrugged like it's not a big deal. The truth was, he didn't really know why. She had been unconscious when he brought her here and although he could sleep on the ground just fine, seeing her sleep so fitfully made him uncomfortable. She was tired and exhausted. Her face was pinched and lips pursed as if even in her sleep she wanted to slap at his face and yell at him.

His mind had no control over his body as he lifted the cover and slipped under it next to her. She was warm, but he was warmer and apparently she could feel that. She snuggled into him, her pinched face relaxed into a peaceful one. He hated physical contact, especially to girls, but he thought he owned her something, so he at least should offer her some of his warmness. It sounded quite lame though, but he shrugged it off and just laid there next to her.

It's a relief as she didn't try to cuddle him. He could tolerant her snuggling into him, but not cuddling. He noticed she didn't move much while sleeping. In fact, if it wasn't for her chest rising and falling he would have thought she was dead. Her long indigo hair draped over her shoulder and he had a sudden urge of running his fingers through it. He suppressed that urge, assuming it was an effect of the potion.

She had a lavender scent that he found very soothing. Though he wasn't sure if it was her perfume or natural scent, he inclined towards the latter. His dark eyes roamed over her face and stopped at her lips. They were still red and swollen and he wondered if it hurt her kissing him that hard. He remembered the moment their lips touched and the surge of chakra rushed through his body. The moment he knew he's fucked up and this girl hold his life in her hand. It was his first kiss to a girl and he guessed it was her first too, though with no solid evidence. He admitted he had been a little too aggressive toward her, but he didn't regret it. It was matter of life or death for him after all. He told himself to be gentler the next time, only if she co-operated.

It wasn't long before his eyelids began to feel heavy. It's strange though because it usually took him at least 1 hour before he could fall asleep. Not only did he had fallen asleep fast but he also had slept well, so he was quite angry being wakened by a kick to his abdomen. This was a quite memorable moment for both of them. He couldn't believe the first girl he had ever slept with would kick him out of their bed. He was about to lash out at her for daring to wake him but seeing her so fluster made him pause. The way she clutched the cover to her body told him she was thinking that he was a pervert, that he could understand. Waking up on the same bed with the man who had kidnapped you certainly was a terrible experience. What he didn't understand was why the hell he had his arms around her waist and her face buried on his chest. Even now he still didn't understand.

"We'll talk later." What he meant was, they would talk later, but not about this. She looked like she wanted to protest, but he quickly closed the door to her face. She tried to open it, but it's already locked.

"Open the door." She shouted, but no answer. "I won't try to escape." Still no answer.

Hinata gave a sigh and shuffled to the bed and plopped on it. The mattress was hard, but what more could she ask for. For now, she would put her comfort aside and try her best to help Sasuke. For the first time in her life, Hinata didn't feel like a burden but actually helpful, even just by kissing him, and that put a smile on her face.

* * *

"You're early," Sakura said in surprise that her blonde teammate actually showed up on time. Though he wasn't as late as Kakashi, Naruto was never early.

"Of course I'm early. It's Sasuke we're going to search for." He exclaimed.

"And Hinata." Shino reminded him.

"Right." Naruto nodded and Sakura couldn't help but be worried. Although he was never as cheerful and energetic as before Sasuke's disappearance, he just got worse since he's informed about Sasuke kidnapping Hinata. It hurt her seeing his fake smiles and the dullness in his blue eyes. Six years ago she asked him to bring Sasuke back, but now she just wished she could do that for him. There was already too many weights on his shoulders.

The team had 4 members: Naruto, Shino, Sakura and a Hyuuga member named Kou with Shino being the captain. Kou was used to be Hinata's caretaker when she's a little girl and he really adored her so he definitely would try his best to find and rescue her. Needless to say, Neji would join the team if he was alive. _No_ , Sakura shook her head slightly. If Neji was alive, this team would never exist because he wouldn't let anyone, even Sasuke kidnap Hinata.

Even 2 years after the war, the wounds in their soul still hadn't healed. She knew Hinata sometimes cried in her sleep. No matter how much makeup she put on to cover her red puffy eyes, Sakura still noticed.

"Naruto-san," Kou said, taking a step toward the blonde boy. "I hope we can work well together."

"I hope so too." He said scratching his head. Hyuugas were too polite for his liking.

"And when we find her, I hope you can give her an answer." His voice was a little firmer. Well, maybe they're not always polite.

"Eh?" For a moment he was at loss for words. He, of course, know what Kou was referring to, he just wasn't sure how to respond. Fortunately for him, Shino decided to step in.

"Now isn't the time to talk about that." He said. "We should be going."

Kou's pale eyes showed a little annoy towards Naruto the last time before leaping on the braches and the rest quickly followed. There was a tense silence surrounding them as they rushed through the trees. Kou's earlier remark really had some impact on Naruto. However, he didn't dwell on it too long. Now the most important thing was finding Sasuke and rescue Hinata and to do that they had to work not fight with each other.

This time his determination had increased 10 times because it's not just about Sasuke anymore but also Hinata. As much as he loved Sasuke as a brother and teammate, if he dared to lay a hand on her, he definitely wouldn't let him go without punishment.

* * *

Their meal was simple. They had rice, miso soup, omelet, and grilled fish. Hinata had thought he would just get them some instant noddle, so she's a little surprised seeing him bring back a tray of actual food. But she guessed she shouldn't be because he needed her to be healthy. Her health now affected his almost directly.

They ate in silence – a comfortable one. She didn't think she needed to fill the silence with meaningless talking and neither did he. Once they're finished, she gave a sigh of contentment. The food was very good and she hadn't realized how hungry she had been until Sasuke brought her food.

"Are you full?" He asked, and as she nodded her head, he continued. "Now we have some talking to do." He put the tray aside and spread the map out. "As you said, it'll take at least 4 months to get to the Lighting country."

"Can you think of any way to get us there faster?" She asked, hoping that he would somehow find a way to shorten that 4 months to 2 or 3 months.

"Unfortunately, no." He said. "And I have to warn you, our journey won't be easy. A lot of people want to kill me, so you always have to stay close to me."

"I will." She nodded her head. "How long can you go without kissing me?"

"Five days, if I don't do any fighting, and if I do fight I'll need more." He looked at her, actually wanted to see her face redden. "And just so you know, I have lots of enemies." He hid a smirk of amusement as a blush came to her cheeks. Her head ducked under his gaze bashfully and she looked like she wanted to tell him something.

"I actually was thinking about something." She said in a low voice.

"Say it." He raised his brown, curious about what she was up to.

"Can you kiss me on other places?" She finally raised her eyes to meet him and it took all of her courage just to do that. She had been thinking about this while he was absent and eventually came to the conclusion that it wasn't impossible. A kiss on lips or on the forehead was still a kiss.

"Other places? Which places?" Did this girl really not know which situation that question was usually used in? Her innocent was really on a different level. And Orochimaru expected him to restore his clan with her!

"On my…" She didn't catch his mean until moments later and when she did, a deep blush spread from her head to her neck. "I mean my cheeks or my forehead, not those places you're thinking about." She exclaimed. "You pervert!"

"Yeah, right." He snorted. "Said the girl who has had a crush on Naruto who has created Sexy no Jutsu."

"I-I… N-Naruto isn't a p-p-per… H-He is…" She sputtered in embarrassment, trying to think of something to retort him, but came up with nothing. In her mind she knew he wasn't wrong, Naruto definitely wasn't the best gentleman in the world, but that doesn't mean he was a pervert.

Seeing her so fluster about Naruto somehow annoyed him and he decided he had to put an end to that. Fortunately making her shut up wasn't a difficult task. He grabbed her chin, turned her face to his and pressed his lips on her cheek. The girl went silent immediately. Her pale eyes widened in surprise and she was frozen to the spot. Why the hell did he always kiss her so abruptly? He should have warned her first. Just an _I'm going to kiss you_ would be nice.

His lips lingered on her cheek for a moment which to her felt like an hour before they slowly moved to her forehead. She didn't know how long he had kissed her there, the only thing her mind could register was how warm his lips feel on her forehead. And she suddenly realized there hadn't been anyone kissing her on her forehead for 2 years. The only person who had kissed her forehead was her mother and Neji and both were dead. Hanabi usually kissed her cheeks and her father never kissed her.

After 2 years, she almost forgot how it felt to have a pair of lips on her forehead and now she was reminded of how nice it could be. His lips felt warm and soft and there was something stirred inside her. They were memories. She closed her eyes, reminiscing every time Neji hold her face and kissed her forehead with an affection that only him could express and only she could understand.

Forehead kisses meant a lot to her. It was a symbol of her mother's love and Neji's affection and Sasuke could never understand. She didn't intend to tell him anyway.

There was a lumping which was forming in her throat and she tried her best to swallow it down. He wasn't Neji. Sasuke wasn't Neji and it's wrong for her to think of him as Neji.

She only opened her eyes as his lips left her forehead. "H-How was that?" She asked, was a little eager to see if this could work as an alternative way to replenish his chakra.

"Nice."

"E-Eh?" And when she realized what he was referring to, she exclaimed. "I'm not asking about the kiss. I'm asking if it works."

"It didn't work." He said. "I didn't feel any chakra."

Her face fell in disappointment. She was sulking. "I see."

"Kissing me isn't that bad." He looked a little displeasure. There were hundreds of girls out there who were willing to die just to get a peck on his cheek and this girl was sulking because she had to kiss him on his lips? He guessed he shouldn't be too surprised. She, after all, was head over heels with Naruto. "We could try other places if you want."

Again, she blushed furiously and he could even feel the heat on her face. "N-No, t-t-thanks."

He liked teasing her and seeing her fluster, although he didn't know exactly why. There was just something very fascinating in the way her face redden and her pale eyes look away in embarrassment. If she could be that shy around him, she probably would faint in Naruto's presence. For some reason, that thought brought a frown to his face.

"How is your hand?" His sudden question stopped her blushing and she looked at him in confusion. Did he really care about her hand? That was unexpected because the cut in her hand certainly wouldn't affect his health or chakra level.

"U-Um, it's fine." She said, flipping over her right hand to reveal a cut on her palm. The cut wasn't big, so she didn't think it would need to be healed by chakra. It could heal itself in several days. Apparently, Sasuke didn't agree with her.

She almost squeaked in surprise as he took her hand and his other hand hovered above it. Her palm was tingled as his chakra stitched the cut. "You know medical jutsu?" She couldn't help but ask.

"Only the basics." He replied.

"You should preserve your chakra." She said. "The cut isn't serious. It can heal on it own in several days."

"You want me to preserve my chakra because you don't want to kiss me?" He sneered.

"You don't want to kiss me either."

He didn't appear to agree or disagree with her statement. He certainly didn't dislike their kisses, but did he like it? He didn't so sure himself. She probably thought that he hated kissing her and he couldn't blame her for thinking like that. His reputation with girls wasn't a good one. Some even thought he was gay. She thought she was doing him a favor by telling him not to waste his chakra to heal her so that he wouldn't have to kiss her sooner, but actually, it only made him frown even deeper. He was sure if he was Naruto, she certainly would be on the ninth cloud right now.

Pushing that thought aside, he reminded himself now wasn't the time to think about something like that. They had a more important task at hand to take care of. "We are going at sunrise." As the girl nodded her head, he turned to look at the window on his left. Tomorrow would start their journey to the Lighting Country. He didn't know what was going to happen to them, but he would protect her at all cost.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer** : I own nothing.

 **A/N:** Thank you for the reviews, favs and follows. They truly motivate me a lot.

As you guys can see, I've changed the title of the story "The Kiss" to "Kiss me", because I think it suits the story better.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **4**

They said he was the most oblivious boy in the world. Okay, maybe they're right because he hadn't noticed Hinata's feelings towards him until she said it straight to his face. Now when he thought about it, she had expressed her feelings quite clearly that everyone noticed, everyone but him. Her behaviors, whenever she was around him, had said it all. She blushed a lot, she stuttered to the point he couldn't understand what she was trying to say, she treated him kindly, she offered to pay for his ramen and she would even faint when he showed up too abruptly. He should have noticed her feelings without her telling him.

Even when she had confessed to him, he couldn't give a proper answer. He had lots of reasons for that. His mind was preoccupied with so many things that he barely had time to ponder over her confession. He could name some things such as finding Sasuke, helping Tsunade rebuild the village after Pain's attack and of course, not to forget Sakura's sudden confession. She told him she loved him when it's clear that she was still in love with his best friend. With all these things going on, Hinata's confession was the farthest thing in his mind.

He knew he was hurting her and he hated himself for that. So many times he noticed Kiba's fists clenched tightly like he wanted to punch him hard on his face but couldn't. The buzzing sound around Shino would get louder every time he saw him walking on the street. The worst was Neji. The prodigy Hyuuga always had a look of distaste on his face whenever he saw him. His posture was tense as if it took all of his willpower to not launch at the blonde boy and gentle fist him right on his chest and also make sure that it would take even Tsunade a few months to heal him completely. Maybe it would have been better if they just beat him to a pulp, but they didn't, because Hinata would hate them for that. "Hate" probably was a little too strong word, but they wouldn't risk hurting her feelings.

Hinata didn't come asking for his answer. She never did. She only did the same thing as before her confession which was acting like it didn't exist. She still blushed around him, stuttered a little, smile shyly, but Naruto knew better. Kiba and Shino had always felt the need to drag her away saying that they would treat her cinnamon rolls and Neji would find some excuses to take her somewhere else whenever he showed up around them. Hinata always said yes to their offers.

And then came the Fourth Ninja War. She fought alongside him, bravely. Until this day he could still felt her warm palm on his cheek. She had pulled him from the dark abyss of feeling hopeless and about to give up everything after witnessing his comrades die on the battlefield. He couldn't imagine what would have happened if she hadn't slapped him.

Naruto wondered which would be crueler, rejecting or ignoring her? Neji died protecting him and his cousin and Naruto knew he did it for Hinata more than for him.

"I promise to Neji," Naruto said as Shino sat down next to him. "That I'll protect her at all cost."

"That's what I want to talk to you about." And without waiting for Naruto to say anything, he continued. "Our mission is to find and rescue Hinata, not to bring Sasuke back, so as soon as we have Hinata safe and sound, we'll return to Konoha immediately."

"What?" Naruto exclaimed. "Why give up on him when we can bring them both back to Konoha?"

"Sasuke is too dangerous," Shino said calmly. He had expected Naruto to react like this, but to actually talk sense into him was really exasperating.

"But he is our teammate too." He insisted.

" _We_ here means Shino and I. After rescuing Hinata-sama, you and Sakura can chase after Sasuke as much as you want. I only care about her." Kou's calm voice cut in making both men turn around to see him walking leisurely to them with his hands being shoved deep in his pocket.

"No, we can't do that. We're supposed to be a team. We must return to Konoha together." Shino opposed.

"Let them chase after Sasuke might be a good thing," Kou explained. "Because if he causes Hinata-sama any harm, I want him to be punished. And that requires him to be in the village."

"If he hurts her, I'll punish him myself," Naruto said, and he meant it. Sasuke might be his brother and best friend, but he wouldn't turn a blind eye to his crimes.

"Sasuke might hurt her physically and gets punished, but what about you?" Kou kneeled down at his eyes level, pale eyes stared straight at blue ones. "You hurt her emotionally."

Silence fell over them. Kou knew this wasn't time for that, but every time he saw Naruto he would think of his Lady's sad eyes and how it's so unfair for her to be ignored by this boy.

"I'll settle things with Hinata when we have her back," Naruto said gravelly.

"You two, that's enough." Shino snapped. "This isn't time for that." He rarely snapped, but when he did, it meant he was really annoyed and you should be careful around him. "This team's goal is to rescue Hinata, not to quarrel with each other. If this happens again, I'll send a letter to Tsunade-sama to request two other shinobis to replace you and you two can return to Konoha and continue to quarrel with each other there."

The air was tense and the only sound was the insects buzzing inside Shino, indicating that they really should listen to him if they wanted to remain on this team. He would rather have less competent teammates who could work together than powerful ones who never stopped fighting each other.

Kou scoffed but didn't say anything. He glared at Naruto the last time before walking away.

When there was just Shino and Naruto left, the bug user gave a sigh. "Sorry. He isn't usually like that."

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry. It's not his fault."

"Kou-san has been taken care of Hinata since she's a little girl," Shino said. "I heard that she is one of the very few main family members who don't look down on the branch family and for that, he really adores her."

"He doesn't take Hinata's kidnapping well." Naruto mused.

"Probably."

"Is Sakura asleep right now?" Shino said, steering the topic to an easier one.

"I think so."

"You should go to sleep. We need you at your top strength."

Naruto nodded his head thinking this probably was the reason why Tsunade had chosen Shino to be the captain. He knew Kou wasn't the only one who was displeased by him ignoring Hinata's confession, but unlike the Hyuuga man, Shino never let his emotions affect his decisions.

Naruto got to his feet and returned to his tent. Right now the only thing he had in mind was to find and rescue Hinata. Her place was Konoha, with her family and friends, not with Sasuke and he would do everything he could to bring her back safe and sound.

* * *

They'd been traveling 5 days without encountering any of his enemies and Hinata was thankful for that.

She looked down at the bread in her hands, suddenly found it appealing. She knew what was going to come. It'd been five days and it's time for Sasuke to kiss her. She had been anticipated it the whole day, but he never mentioned it. She noticed he looked a little tired. He might think he had hidden it well from her, but she wasn't a Hyuuga for nothing. She was very perceptive. It's in the way he moved slowlier or the way he panted heavily after one or two hours of running. A few times she wanted to tell him to kiss her to maintain his chakra level but too shy to do so. She couldn't imagine herself saying _Please kiss me_ to anyone, especially him – the last Uchiha.

She knew this wasn't good for them. His enemies could show up at any time and kill them before he could kiss her. A part of her didn't get why he hadn't kissed her yet. He seemed like someone who always wanted to be in their top chakra level and didn't like being weak. _He didn't want to kiss me_. It probably was the reason and it bothered her for some reason. As long as it wasn't a life-death situation for him, he would rather be weak than kiss her. She shouldn't be surprised, but as she remembered the way he had kissed her so ardently the first two times, she had thought he didn't hate kissing her that much and their kisses were at least tolerant to him. She sighed. It's well known that he detested physical contact, especially to girls, and now he had to kiss her for 4 months, it's no wonder he wanted to delay their kisses until the last minute. She guessed he didn't have a pleasant experience with kissing, she heard that his first kiss was Naruto… Wait a minute! Her pale eyes widened in realization. _Could it be…_

Too submerged in her thoughts, she didn't notice the man sitting across from her had stood up walking toward her. Only when he was right in front of her did she snap out of it and look up at him with her widened eyes. "It's time." She heard him say.

"O-Okay…" She muttered, knowing well what he meant. It's what she'd been waiting for all day after all.

"Are you dating Naruto?"

"E-Eh?" His question caught her off guard and for a moment she thought she hadn't heard him correctly. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." He said. "I'm not gonna repeat myself."

"Uhm… No, I'm not." She muttered, mostly to herself than to him. Her voice was naturally quiet and when she muttered like that, it made it harder for him to hear her, but she knew he had.

"Good." He said, looking a little relieved. It's so subtle that she almost didn't notice but still saw it and that only strengthened her belief. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped as his hands cupped her face tilting it upward to his face. She quickly put her right hand up to cover his lips.

"W-Wait!" She squeaked. Without waiting for his response, she added. "I-I want to tell you something."

His hand rose, long fingers wrapped around her slender wrist to lower her hand. Her palm felt warm and soft on his lips which was quite a surprise as it should have been callous from training gentle fist. "Say it." He said in a low voice.

She fidged with her other hand. His hands were large and rough around her slender wrist and she suddenly was so aware of the fact that this hand had killed lots of people, innocent ones included. She took a breath, reminding herself that he wouldn't use these hands to kill her instead protect her. "There are many girls who like you."

"Yeah." He nodded.

"But you don't like anyone."

"Yeah."

"You've never had a girlfriend before."

"Yeah."

"In fact, you don't like girls at all."

"Exactly."

"You're very close with Naruto-kun."

"Hn." He didn't want to admit it, but it's the truth. His relationship with the Uzumaki boy was hard to define. Some might call it simply friendship, but he knew it's something much deeper. Naruto was his best friend, his brother, someone he really appreciated and respected.

"He's someone very special to you?"

"What are you trying to say, Hinata?" He was beginning to get annoyed and impatient. All he wanted to do right now was just kiss her to recover his chakra and go to sleep. It had been a tiring day for him after all.

"I just want you to know that it's fine if you're gay…"

"WHAT?" He almost screamed at her. If he didn't need her to keep him alive, he definitely would have killed her for saying such a ridiculous thing. This was not the first time someone suspected that he was gay but he usually didn't care because no one dared to say it to his face. He simply didn't feel the need to prove or explain himself to anyone. Besides, judging from the fact that women still threw themselves at him up until these days, he only had more reasons not to make a big fuss over it. But having a girl, the very girl who he would kiss for 4 months told him he was gay, really pissed him off.

"You like Naruto-kun, right? I like him too, but I'll support you because I don't think he'll ever like me back." She continued. She was fully aware of his rising anger but decided that she had to say it.

"SHUT UP!" He shouted at her. Not only did she think he was gay, but she also dared to assume he liked Naruto. Even if the world went extinct and he and Naruto were the only two people left, he would rather die alone than be with that idiot. The mere thought of it made him want to vomit. How she came up with that ridiculous idea was a mystery to him. He didn't like girls didn't mean he liked men and even if he's gay he would never like Naruto.

"Sasuke, calm down. I'm not discrim…" Her words died in her mouth as she realized she was not sitting up anymore. Instead, she was laying down, with Sasuke straddling her, very much like the time when he stole his first kiss. He had both of her wrists in his hands that he was squeezing so tightly it hurt. He leaned down, slowly, taking his time to make her uncomfortable and with the way her face was blushing madly, he could be sure he was doing a good job at it. That's what she got for assuming he liked Naruto.

Their noses touched. Her breath felt warm on his cold skin. His lips were close to hers, so close they touched. In fact, she would consider it as a peck on the lips, until he started talking. His lips moved a little along hers. It wasn't an actual kiss, it's more like teasing. "I can prove you I'm not gay, right now, right here."

Her heart was pounding in her chest. She knew full well what he meant by proving and she certainly wouldn't want it. But why he had to react so strongly? He looked relieved when she told him she wasn't dating Naruto and the fact that he hated girls had made her believe he was gay and even like Naruto. Having to kiss a stranger girl for 4 months while you're not even into girls was certainly frustrating and she just wanted him to know that she was fine with him being gay and there was nothing between her and Naruto. She wanted him to be comfortable with her. They would travel together for 4 months after all and she couldn't bear it if he held a grudge against her because he thought she would stand between him and Naruto.

But, he looked so angry, like her assumption was completely wrong and he was greatly offended.

"Naruto-kun and I… w-we're not…" She stuttered, fully aware of how his body was pressing against her. His thighs gripped her slim waist and he had both of her wrists in one hand, while his other hand was starting to roam under her jacket. His face left hers to nuzzle her neck, which sent a shiver down her spine. Although his skin was cold, his breath was warm. She wiggled, wanting desperately to get him off her. As he didn't budge an inch, she bit her lip, deciding enough was enough. She couldn't let him go further.

Sasuke felt a pain in his stomach and before he knew what was happening, it wasn't her who was lying down, but him. She had kicked him right at his stomach and he landed gracelessly on the ground a few feet from her. He laid on his back, one of his hands touching his stomach to ease the pain there. He couldn't believe she had kicked him, again. His head was a little buzzing and there was a ringing sound in his ears. He decided this wasn't healthy at all. He should have kissed her sooner. She wouldn't have been able to kick him if he had. Right now, he was weak.

Her face suddenly hovered over his and he couldn't help but notice she looked worried. Such a foolish girl, worrying over the man who had done inappropriate things to her. He didn't have manners, but he knew them. And sleeping with a girl or straddling her definitely wasn't one of them.

"A-Are you okay?" He heard her ask him in a tentative voice.

"Just kiss me." He almost snapped at her.

"O-Okay." She nodded before leaning down and put her lips on his. She kissed him tentatively, parting her lips just a little bit. If she hadn't been kissing him for more than a few seconds, he would have thought this was a kiss but just a peck on the lips. This wasn't the first time they kissed, but he could tell she was still nervous.

As Sasuke felt his chakra was returning, he sat up, very slowly, just to not startle her. His hands went up to clasp her shoulders and pulled her towards him. That move did startle her though. She almost squeaked, but the sound soon died in her mouth as his lips completely covered hers in a hungry kiss.

His lips moved along hers, forcing her to open her lips a little more to let his tongue venture in. He heard a small gasp from her and took that as a chance to deepen the kiss. She didn't respond to the kiss, but at least she didn't fight him or trying to attack him like before. Strangely, this didn't please him like he thought it would. He wanted some kind of reaction from her, anything, just something to show him that this kiss and he had an effect on her. Whether she liked it or hated it, was tolerant it or disgusted by it, at least let him know. He couldn't stand how she just sat there and did nothing.

And his tongue did it. She was finally responding to him, though very unwillingly. Her tongue touched his tentatively like she wasn't sure what to do. Her hands gripped her thighs tightly, afraid that if she let go they would grip the front of his chest instead. His lips never stopped for a second. If they didn't lick her lips, they would bite or suck at it. She wondered if he had to kiss her so hungrily. A simple kiss without any tongue was still considered a kiss on the lips and thus, should be still effective. She decided she would ask him that later as she realized he wouldn't and couldn't stop now.

He realized the more his chakra was depleted, the more ardently he would kiss her. It's like a starving man eating bread for the first time. He knew he should slow down, but he just couldn't control himself. This definitely was an effect of the potion.

"I'm not gay." He said after the kiss. He exhaled slowly, reveling in the feeling of his chakra at its top level.

She was blushing madly, bowing her head a little to avoid looking at him. Inside her, she was reprimanding herself for being too stupid. She was so embarrassed right now that she wished the ground open and swallow her. "Y-You asked me if I was dating Naruto-kun…" She muttered softly, though she doubted this explanation would satisfy him. "And you looked relieved when I told you I'm not."

"I really don't want to kiss Naruto's girlfriend." He said, actually wanting to turn her face to him to see her reaction to his reply. He would refrain it for now though since it would only make her more embarrassed and she might faint over it.

"Why did you think I'm Naruto-kun's girlfriend?" She couldn't help but ask him. She was curious about why he would think that. Was there a rumor or something?

"Just my assumption." He shrugged.

"Would that make any difference?" She asked, a little more comfortable with him now. "I mean, even if I'm his girlfriend, you still have to kiss me to stay alive, right?"

"Knowing that you're not his girlfriend would make it easier to kiss you." He replied. "And if you're, I guess I could never kiss you without feeling guilty."

"But it's not your fault. You don't want any of this."

"That doesn't matter. If you're my girlfriend and Naruto has to kiss you to stay alive, I'll be very pissed."

"Luckily, I'm not his girlfriend, right?" She laughed a little, but he could tell it was fake. There was nothing merry in her laugh.

"You said he'll never like you back."

Her laughed died immediately. She didn't say anything to reply to him, instead nodding her head as if she couldn't trust her words. But after a few moments, she decided she had to say it. It had been bottled in her for so long after all. Besides, she would tell him just a little bit. She wouldn't tell him about her fantasies of having a family with Naruto when she was a little girl or those sleepless nights she had spent thinking about how to get his attention or after the Pain's attack, wondering when she would get his answer or why he hadn't addressed her confession yet. "I confessed to him during the Pain's attack and he never gives me an a-answer." Her voice cracked slightly at the last word.

"Never?"

"Never."

Silence fell over them until he snorted. "At least I told Karin and Sakura I'm not interested."

She laughed at that, although very quietly, it was a real one. Sasuke didn't think there would be a day when he could make a girl laugh.

"Uhm… Sasuke…" She said shyly. "Now you know I'm not Naruto-kun's girlfriend, you don't have to delay kissing me until the last minute."

"Hn." He shrugged lightly.

"You can kiss me whenever you want." She added.

"How about now?"

"N-Now? But you've just kissed me."

"You said whenever I want."

"But I…" She started, but as a smirk curved at the corner of his lips, she exclaimed. "Stop teasing me."

"Hn." Was his only reply.

Knowing he wouldn't give her any other reply besides that curt one, she only sighed in defeat. She felt a little tired, which was understandable since she had lost half of her chakra in such a short amount of time. Laying down on the ground, she looked up at the night sky and suddenly felt a sting in her eyes. She missed her family, her father, and Hanabi. Maybe she should write them a letter to tell them she was fine and Sasuke didn't hurt her. But she would leave that for tomorrow. Right now she was too exhausted and her eyelids felt heavy.

He watched her put her hand on her mouth to suppress a yawn and heard her mutter a "Goodnight" before drifting off to sleep.

The girl laid on her side with her arms close to her chest. Some might think she was in such vulnerability right now, but they're wrong because he was here with her. For the next 4 months, her place was with him and he would gladly kill anyone who dared to take her away.

* * *

Hanabi woke up as the first ray of sun shone through the white curtain. She looked around, realizing this wasn't her room but her sister's. She had come to Hinata's room last night and fallen asleep here. She turned on her side and closed her eyes, though she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep again. She wanted to stay here because being in this room made her feel at ease, although just a little.

She had come here last night after a fight with her father. She wasn't informed about her sister's kidnapping right away because her father knew if she had been she would have tried to leave with him. Only when Kou had already left the village with the rescue team did she know. Last night she had begged him to let her go and that she didn't need a team, she could find and rescue her sister on her own just fine, but his answer was always a no. He told her that she had to stay in the village because she was the Hyuuga Heiress and it's too dangerous. She had left his office slamming the door closed so hard it almost fell out and run to Hinata's room. Only when she was surrounded by the lavender scent that she was finally calm down. She had climbed on her sister's bed, imagining Hinata's soft hands run through her brown hair while trying to comfort her. People said she was too much like her father and that was the problem. They both had a strong personality and Hinata had always comforted her when she had a fight with her father.

A knock on the door disrupted her thoughts and Hanabi quickly sat up. She already knew who it was and she didn't want to see him at all, not after her fight with him last night. The door was opened after a few seconds and Hiashi came in, looking as grim as ever. "I know I would find you here."

Hanabi said nothing. The only indication that she had heard him was her looking away to avoid him.

"I know you're mad at me, probably even think that I'm such a selfish father who doesn't care about his daughters' wellbeing at all," Hiashi said as he walked closer to her. He couldn't help but notice the puffiness of her pale eyes and how disheveled she looked.

"I have only one request." She said in a cracked voice.

"And my answer is still no."

"If you are not going to change your mind, what are you doing here?"

"I'm the leader of this clan before I'm your father." He began. "Byakugan's secret has been in enough danger with Hinata's kidnapping, I can't risk to let you go and double that danger."

"It's always about this clan and Byakugan, have you ever thought about us as a father?" She almost yelled at him. Right now being in Hinata's room with her lavender scent wasn't enough to calm her down. If only she was here.

"Because I think as a father I can't let you go." Only at this moment, he realized how much she had taken after him. He was reminded of the exact conversation he had had with his father about his twin brother taking his place to go to Kumo after he killed one of their people. He remembered fighting his father all night over it and never forgot what he had said. _You'll understand when you have your own children._

Now he had two daughters to take care of and a clan to lead, he understood what his father had been through and how he had felt and he deeply respected him for that. "You'll understand when you have your own children." He told her what he had been told so many years ago.

"You know Kou's Byakugan's range was smaller than mine. That gap may cost Hinata-neechan her life." She said with some difficulty as a lump was forming in her throat. "You may lose one of your daughters.".

"I may, so I have to protect my other one at all costs." And with that, he left the room. Unknowingly for Hanabi, this room and the lavender scent in it had actually calmed him down a little bit. He didn't expect her to understand, but he hoped at least she knew he loved his two daughters and he didn't let her go not only because he had to ensure that Byakugan's secret would remain a secret but also because he didn't want to lose her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer** : I own nothing.

 **A/N:** We've reached 100 reviews already? Yayyyyyyy!

I know 100 reviews aren't much, but it means a lot to me. When I started writing this story, I have lots of insecurities, mainly because English isn't my first language and I'm afraid that you guys wouldn't understand a word I wrote, so having you guys favorite, follow and leave me a review really encourage me a lot. Again, thank you for all of your support, I really appreciate it.

* * *

 **5**

"This is good."

Hinata couldn't help but blush madly as she heard him muttered between their kisses. After the embarrassing "gay incident", he had kissed her more often. He never waited until day 5 to kiss her, usually day 4 or sometimes even day 3, it depended on how many enemies they encountered.

They had encountered some of his enemies and luckily they were not the formidable ones. _Nothing that I can't handle_ as Sasuke had said to her. They were mostly bounty hunters who wanted his head for money and were foolish enough to think that they could defeat him.

She let out a squeak of surprise as one of his hand snaked around her waist. His palm pressed against her lower back, further pushing her into him though there was already very little space between them. Her breasts were pressed against his muscled chest and while she didn't know if he was aware of it, she certainly was. She guessed he wasn't though, he was too indulged in their kisses to barely notice it. Or he simply didn't care. But she did.

Her hands rose, slender fingers putting on his shoulders to try to push him away, though very slightly as his arms had secured her closely to him. Every time she opened her mouth to tell him to slow down he would crash his lips to hers and swallowed every word she was about to say.

Pushing at his shoulders was futile, so she had to try another way. Her hand lowered, then slowly slid between their chests, trying desperately to create a barrier between them. She knew what she was doing was absurd, but she just couldn't let her chest press so closely against his that just a small movement was enough to create friction. This way at least there was something between them.

Her hands were meant to spread on his chest to prevent their chests from touching, but as his lips sucked lightly at her tongue, her fingers unconsciously curled around his shirt, gripping it tightly in her hands. Her lips felt his soft lips while her hands appreciated his hard chest. She normally would never dare to touch any man, but every time his tongue licked her lips or his teeth nibbled on her bottom one, she was lost. She panted heavily, finding it hard to breathe as if every breath she took he stole it from her. Her hands now had succumbed to their curiosity as they sought his chest and finally, grasp the right one.

One of his hand tangled in her indigo hair, adjusting her head until he found the best angle to kiss her. He closed his eyes, but not fully. He could saw her flushed cheeks and her indigo hair fell over her shoulders, veiling her face from the outside world. It's like her kissing face was reserved for him only. And he liked it that way. The thought of someone else seeing the face he was seeing right now really made his hands tingle with electricity. _This must be an effect of the potion_. He vaguely thought as his teeth bit on her bottom lip. _Or I'm just too possessive_. Sasuke decided it was both. Although this girl was not his girlfriend or his wife, once he put his lips on hers, only him was allowed to kiss her, at least until Orochimaru fixed him. From now until that day, he would gladly kill anyone who dared to put their filthy mouths on hers.

He didn't have to have her so close to him to kiss her. They could always kiss with plenty of space between them, but somehow his arms always sought her waist and brought her closer to him. It just felt natural having her close while kissing her. Her frantic heartbeat told him he was doing it right. Her pants assured him that she didn't find his kisses disgusting. It's sounded like he needed her approval, but it's actually very far from that. Her submission. He wanted her to submit to him, to know that it's not only his heart that beat faster, his breath that was heavier but hers too.

Her lavender scent filled his senses. It's calming and soothing. It was everywhere, in her indigo hair, on her skin, on her clothes and even on him. It always lingered on him faintly for hours after they kissed. He knew he had his own scent too and it probably would linger on her just like hers did on him. He just didn't know how his scent was like. He never let anyone close to him enough to know how he smelled like. That, of course, didn't count the Inuzuka boy as he could sniff out every scent from miles away. Sandalwood, maybe? Or more exactly, a combination of electricity and fire. He decided it didn't really matter.

He felt the heat radiating from her, though it's not something he was unfamiliar with. In fact, he deemed she had to have a fire element because of all the blush she produced whenever she was around Naruto. But now, there was no Naruto around, only him and her, their mouth connecting and the kissing sounds and their heavy breaths filled the room.

He sat with his back pressing against the cold wall and she was sitting on his lap, which she probably didn't know how she got into this position with him and so did he. One moment they're kissing and the next moment he had had her sit on his lap. Then, her breasts were pressing against his chest. The sensation had him flinch for a moment. Even being hidden beneath layers of clothes, he could still feel how soft and warm her breasts were. True, he had always had her close to him while kissing her, but never this close. His first instinct was to push her slightly away, not too far, but at least far enough so that their chests wouldn't be touching, but he found himself doing nothing. He felt like a pervert and was a little alarmed by that.

He vaguely noticed her hands were put on his shoulders in a futile attempt to push him away and he instinctively tightened his arms around her. His teeth sank into her bottom lip as if to tell her do not try to struggle. He kissed her the way he wanted and this was how he would like it to be: her sitting on his lap and her body pressing against his, that included her breasts. He knew he was being ridiculous, but well, let's assume it was an effect of the potion. In fact, everything happened between them he would blame it on Orochimaru and his damn potion, though in the back of his mind he knew only Orochimaru could know if this was an effect of the potion or not.

He quickly pushed the thought out of his mind, focusing on her lips. Just when he thought she wouldn't try to protest him anymore she proved him wrong. Her hands slid between their chests, trying to create a barrier between them. He sucked lightly on her tongue and smirked as her hands gripped his shirt. He knew exactly what to do to make her weak and her head spin. He continued kissing her, finding that having her hands on his hard chest wasn't that bad, as long as they didn't try to push him away. Now her soft hands had probably forgotten their mission of preventing their chests from touching and chose to feel his muscles instead. Sasuke never expected what she did next though. She grasped his right chest. To have her slender fingers spread on his chest was one thing, but to grasp it? He flinched. The kiss ended abruptly and she looked at him in surprise, didn't know why he stopped, her hands still on his chest.

"You are groping me." He said.

Her pale eyes trailed down until they landed on her right hand which was grasping his right chest while her left hand was gripping his shirt. She let out a scream in horror and scrambled back frantically. "I-I'm so sorry." She stammered. "I d-didn't know w-what I w-was d-doing and I-I j-just... I didn't mean t-to g-grope y-you... I'm s-sorry. P-Please, forgive m-me..."

Sasuke felt his lips curl into a smirk seeing her so flustered. She almost screamed in terror as he suddenly grabbed her wrist and the next thing she knew was she was laying down with him straddling her, again. This seemed to be his favorite position. Her face was getting redder and redder if it's even possible. At this rate, she's afraid that she might faint soon. Fainting didn't sound too bad though, if it meant she could escape from this embarrassing moment, even just for a few hours.

Her heartbeat quickened as he leaned down until his face was merely a few inches from hers. "No," he said. "You can't faint just yet. I'm not done kissing you." Without waiting for her reply, his lips brushed hers lightly in a chaste kiss. She squirmed beneath him, in her head thinking that this position was far worse than the first one.

"Get off me." She managed to say without stuttering.

"Why?"

"Y-You're too heavy."

"Too heavy?" He smirked. "You're a kunoichi. I'm sure you've endured much heavier weights than me."

"B-But I... Ah!"

He didn't let her finish as he flipped her over. Now it's him who was being straddled by her. "Better?" He asked, but he didn't give her time to answer him. His hand slid into her indigo hair, cupping the back of her head and pulling her down for an ardent kiss. His tongue sought hers, sucking at it lightly before biting her bottom lips. A small whimper could be heard from her and he had to bite back a groan. He altered between biting, sucking and licking. If biting hurt her a little bit, he would quickly soothe her by a gentle lick of his tongue. He made sure no place in her mouth was left untouched. His breath mingled with hers, warm and quick. There were too little air and too much heat.

He only paused briefly when he needed air. It only took him a few seconds to take a breath before resuming to ravish her mouth again. Their kisses continued like that until his chakra was fully recovered. His hand retreated from her indigo hair, allowing her to pull back. She was still straddling him and before she could get off him, he quickly sat up, his right hand grabbed her face, turning it toward him. Her face was still red and it probably would be that way a lot until they found Orochimaru. He noticed she didn't look at him, and he was right in front of her. In fact, her pale eyes looked anywhere but him. His thumb slowly traced her lips, making her flinch and her eyes unconsciously look at him, just like how he wanted her to.

Her lips were red and swollen from all the kissing he had done to her. They're a little wet and looked even plumper than they did usually. "Does it hurt?" He asked.

"E-Eh?" Her pale eyes widened, not sure what he meant.

"Your lips," he said, "Does it hurt?" Yeah, he knew he was a little rough with her and he had no excuses for that. This was simply how he liked to kiss her, but if it really did hurt her, he might reconsider it.

"U-Uhm..." She began, didn't know how to respond to him.

"I'll try to be more gentle next time." Never in his life did he imagine there was a day when he said that to anyone.

"Y-You don't have to." She muttered.

"It hurts you."

"But you like it that way."

He liked it that way? When was the last time someone gave a damn about what he liked? Naruto wanted him to return to Konoha because he believed it's the best for him. Sakura chased after him, wanting to go with him because she was worried about him. She believed she could help him. Both of them cared about him, not what he wanted. What he wanted might not be what's the best for him, but it's his life and his choices.

"You should stand up for yourself more. " He said. This girl was so unselfish.

"I d-didn't say I don't like it."

"You like it?" He looked at her in surprise. Did he imagine it or she really said that she liked how he kissed her?

"I-I..." She stuttered. "I d-don't dislike it. It hurt a little when you bit me, but then you licked it s-so I don't t-think I was in any pain." Her face was getting redder and redder that can put any tomatoes in shame.

"Well, I never expect that from you." He let the corner of his lips curl into a smirk. "The shy, timid Hinata likes rough kisses.

"I don't." This was getting more and more embarrassing and she felt like she was going to faint soon.

"Don't lie. You even groped me."

"I didn't even know I was doing it." She cried.

"That means you like it."

"I said I don't dislike it doesn't mean I like it."

"Do you?" He asked, now looking straight at her pale eyes, daring her to lie to him.

"I don't w-want to talk about this anymore." She was about to get off him but found herself couldn't move as his arm had already sneaked around her waist, trapping her in his lap. She squirmed on his lap, trying to struggle against him though she knew it was all futile. She couldn't escape him until she gave him an answer. But she couldn't. She would die from embarrassment before she could tell him she liked his kisses. Her hands covered her face, trying to hide her bright blush from his dark eyes. She squeaked as his hand grabbed at her wrists and forced her to lower her hands.

"No," He said. "Do not hide. Tell me, do you like my kisses or not?"

"Please, I don't want to talk about this."

"Why? You dared to grope me and now you can't tell me if you like my kisses or not."

"P-Please, I-I..."

"Just tell me yes or no."

And she fainted. She went limp in his arm, leaving him frustrated.

He cursed inwardly. He should have seen that coming. Giving a sigh, he laid her on the bed and pulled a cover on her. He would let her rest for now, but if she thought she could get away with it by fainting then she was completely wrong. He was determined to get her to admit that she liked his kisses and he still had 4 months to do that.

Sasuke decided he would get some food while she was resting. He created a clone to watch over her while he was out. Looking at her the last time, he noticed her blush had subsided a little, giving her cheeks a pink hue. He didn't think he had ever seen someone who could blush that brightly and he wondered if it was healthy for her.

He left the room, closing the door with a small click. They had arrived in this village this morning and were currently stayed at a small inn. This village was small, surrounded by mountains upon mountains and so well-hidden from the outside world that he doubted the villagers knew about the Great War. They probably didn't know about him or about his dark past. They didn't look at him with fear in their eyes or whisper things about him behind his back To them he was a traveler stopping by their village for shelter.

The village didn't have many people. The street wasn't bustling with people going around as if they didn't have better things to do. He looked around, wondering what he should get for dinner. Although the village was small, it had lots of eating places. The thing was when you have lots of options, you wouldn't know what to choose. Grilled fish and miso soup didn't sound too bad, or omelet? Hinata wasn't ap picky eater so she probably would eat whatever he got for her.

He stopped at a small eatery. This place looked clean and smelled quite good. He ordered two takeouts and five minutes later the waiter brought him a bag with 2 boxes in it. He paid for the takeouts and quickly left the eatery.

In his way back, something caught his attention. Tucked away in a corner was a small cosmetic shop. The shop looked vacant as if it hadn't had any customers for months. The only person in the shop was the owner who looked like even she herself was tired of her slow business.

Sasuke knew something was wrong with him as he contemplated going to that shop. He couldn't imagine there would be a day when he would even consider going to a cosmetics shop. A place where only ladies go to, what was there for him? It's not for him, but for Hinata.

He was reluctant. If Naruto knew he was going to a cosmetic shop he would never stop laughing at him. But Naruto wasn't here. In fact, there was no one here except him and the shop owner and she didn't even know him. He would go there, ask the owner what he should buy because obviously, he didn't know a thing about cosmetics, pay for the product and get out of this damn place. It would only take five minutes. But he didn't want to go there. He wasn't compelled to get her anything and it's not like she would ever complain. And that's where the problem laid. She never complained. Though she had already told him it didn't hurt, he simply didn't believe her. Something tugged at his heart as he remembered how red and swollen her lips looked after kissing him.

After much reluctance, he gave a sigh and walked to the shop. The owner noticed him immediately and beamed at him. Finally, a customer! "How can I help you?" Her smile, if possible, was even wider.

"I need something for my..." He paused for a moment, wasn't sure how to address Hinata. They weren't friends or strangers, they just kissed a lot due to a weird circumstance. "... company." He decided the word "company" was good for now.

"Can you be more specific? What exactly do you need? It's something for her browns, eyelashes, skin or..."

"Her lips. I want something for her lips."

"What is her skin tone? Though I have some lipstick colors that can match any skin tone."

"I don't know. I just kiss her a lot."

"E-Eh?" The owner's jaw almost dropped as she stared at him incredulously.

"I kiss her a lot that her lips look red and swollen after kissing me. Do you have anything that can help with that?"

"You can try to kiss her less." She said, in her head thinking this man was weird.

"I can't."

"I think this may be what you need." She looked at rows of makeup, finally picked out something and gave it to him.

"What is this?" He asked, looking at the small stick in his palm.

"Lip balm. It's made of honey and coconut oil and can help moisturize the lips." To be honest, she didn't think his company would need a lip balm, but she simply couldn't let her first customer in days walk away without buying anything.

"I'll take it." He said and gave the woman some money.

"Do you want something else for her?" She suggested, trying to get him to buy more. Without waiting for his reply, she took out a palette. "This is powder blush. It can give her a subtle, flattering flush that looks really pretty."

Sasuke paused, looking at the palette for a moment. In his head, he could see her face getting redder and redder, hotter and hotter until she fainted. "She doesn't need that." And he left before the woman could say more. Her blush could put any blush palettes in shame.

* * *

She woke up with a start. Quickly sat up, she looked around and soon her pale eyes landed on the man who had haunted her dreams, asking her if she liked his kisses or not. He was busy looking at the map, didn't pay her any attention but she had no doubt that he had already known that she was no longer asleep.

"S-Sasuke..." She called hesitantly.

"Dinner is ready." He said, closing the map.

"U-Uhm..." She fidgeted with her fingers but eventually forced them apart. This was a bad habit she had managed to give up but still came back when she was extremely nervous. "I-I..."

"Let's eat first. Whatever you want to say can wait."

"O-Okay." She muttered. Actually, it could wait forever as she didn't want to talk about it. If he didn't mention it, she would act as if nothing had happened.

She looked inside the box to see what their dinner was. There were rice, miso soup, fish cakes, and some steamed vegetables. She glanced at his box, seeing that he had the same box as her.

They ate in silence. The food was good, she noticed, but it would have been better if her mind didn't constantly replay the embarrassing moment a few hours ago. Even now her blush hadn't subsided completely and her cheeks were still a little red. None of this would have happened if her damn hand hadn't groped him. She didn't even know she was doing it. It just happened. It seemed she could never control herself whenever their kisses got too hot.

Her blush deepened as she reminisced how firm his chest felt in her palm and that made her felt like a pervert. She knew most shinobi had good physique and she had seen it before, she just never touched it, let alone groped it. Her father must be ashamed of her and Hanabi would definitely tease her for the rest of her life. As if _I would ever tell them_. She thought to herself, willing herself to calm down.

"Why are you blushing?"

She jumped at his voice, pale eyes looked up at him in embarrassment. "I-I..."

"Thinking about my chest?"

"W-What? N-No..."

"Hn." He shrugged, the smirk at the corner of his lips told her he didn't believe a word she said.

Okay, she did think about his chest, but not really. She just thought about how embarrassed she was and she had no one to blame but herself, definitely not about the firm and taut muscle that was his chest and that it's even better than what Sakura and Ino used to gossip about when they're kids and that she had the privilege to not only touch it but also grope it. _God, what am I thinking?_ She tried to stop herself from thinking about it, but the more she tried, the more vivid the memory of that embarrassing moment became.

Sasuke looked at her in amusement. She probably didn't even know that she had stopped eating. This girl really couldn't hide her emotions as they're so transparent in her pale eyes. The way she fidgeted with her fingers but then forced them apart or how she kept her head down to avoid looking at him, all those things told him she was mortified.

"And you haven't given me an answer to my question earlier." He said in a monotonous tone.

"I-I don't know..." She cried out. "Why do you insist on knowing?"

That made him paused. Why did he want to know so badly? Or better, why did he want her to tell him that she liked his kisses though he already knew she did? She was an open book that even if she told him that she disliked it he could easily say she was lying and would do everything to make her change her answer. That made him sound like a jerk, but he simply hated lying. But that doesn't explain why he wanted her to admit that she liked his kisses.

His eyes scowled at her and that really unnerved her. It was as if he was telling her to not question him in return and just stop being stubborn and spit it out already and that they still had 4 months which involved lots of kissing and one way or another he would eventually make her admit it. She really had no way out.

"I like it, okay?" She finally cried out.

His only answer was a smirk that made her even more embarrassed. Finally, he got what he wanted. He watched in amusement as her hands cover her flushed face, though he expected no less from her. She was Hinata after all, the shyest and most timid girl in the world.

She let out a squeak as his hand grabbed at her wrists, revealing her blushing face to him. He pulled her hand towards him, fished something out of his pocket and put it in her palm.

"Lip balm?" She said in confusion, not really understood why he gave it to her.

"Your lips look red and swollen after kissing me so..." Though his face didn't show it, he found this moment was quite awkward and wanted it to pass quickly as when he was at the cosmetic shop.

"T-Thanks." She said, still couldn't believe that he got her a lip balm.

"The shop owner said it can help moisturize the lips."

Now she got it. Sasuke probably didn't even know what lip blam was. He just bought it because the shop owner recommended it to him. To be honest, she didn't think she needed a lip balm. It was used mainly to moisturizer and relieve chapped and dry lips, which her lips were not. She could have told him that the shop owner had tricked him to buy her product, but she wouldn't. This lip balm showed that he cared and that he wasn't a selfish jerk who only loved himself as people made him out to be. But he bought this lip balm because he thought that he had hurt her, which wasn't true at all, so besides a thank you, there's still something else she needed to tell him.

"My lips are okay." She said softly. "You didn't hurt me."

"The redness and swollen tell me I did."

"It's normal for them to look like that after..." She hesitated a little before continuing. "... Being kissed l-like how you kissed me."

His only reply was his infamous "Hn", and she couldn't help but smile to herself. Somehow she could feel that this time he believed her. He could be kind when he wanted to and never in her life did she think she would be one of the few people who had the privilege to experience it.

Maybe Naruto was right after all, that Sasuke wasn't so bad and he was still human. Hinata suddenly realized that she hadn't thought about Naruto until now.

Too submerged in her thoughts, she didn't notice he had stood up and walked to the bed. Only when his voice broke the silence she was pulled out of her reverie. "I'm going to sleep." He said, laying down on the bed.

"Uhm... O-Okay. Good night." She mumbled. "I'm going to take a shower."

He didn't reply to her, only turned away with his back facing her.

Hinata quietly walked to the bathroom and closed the door, didn't forget to lock it. The bathroom was simple. It has a toilet, a bathtub, a shower, and a mirror.

She quickly removed her clothes and turned on the shower. Drop after drop of water fell over her body washing away any dirt and grime that had accumulated on her skin. After days of traveling in the forest, she finally had a hot bath and couldn't help but give a sigh of contentment.

After a while, she turned off the shower, deciding to use the bathtub. It usually didn't take long for her to bath, but she might have to wait a very long time before she could have a nice hot bath again, so why not enjoy it while she could? She placed the plug securely, added a little lavender oil, in her head thinking that this probably was one of the best inns she had ever stayed at, and turned on the tap.

Dipping her fingers into the water, she was pleased to find it was just right for her. She quickly got inside and another sigh of contentment escaped her lips as the warm water enveloped her. The sweet aroma of the lavender oil lingered on her skin and on her hair, relaxing her even more and she found herself humming a familiar tune softly. Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes and let the warm water caress her body as her mind wandering somewhere else.

Even now, she still couldn't believe that he had bought a lip balm for her. This wasn't the first time she was given something by a guy, but somehow this time was different. Maybe it's different because it's not just any guy but the last Uchiha who she had never given much thought about, until now. She felt a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she thought of the exact reason why he had bought the lip balm because he thought he hurt her. If she had ever imagined herself in a situation like this, she would wish that that guy would have blonde hair and blue eyes, but she found herself didn't. She was fine with him having dark hair and onyx eyes and just being Sasuke. Truthfully, that fact frightened her a little bit.

She even admitted to him that she liked his kisses. Though it's very embarrassing, she thought she knew why she liked it. Because it made her feel wanted and alive. It's such a foreign and pleasant feeling that she wanted to experience it again and again. She wondered if Sasuke felt the same, but then quickly shook her head to banish that thought. It was such a ridiculous thought of her to even consider the possibility of him liking their kisses. Even if he did, she could picture him in her mind shrugging his shoulders and nonchalantly saying _"I like it only because the potion makes me feel that way."_ How could he like it on his own anyway? He didn't even like girls. He didn't like the kisses, he just liked the feeling of chakra returning to his body and giving back his power.

When she imagined how she would like to be kissed, it's always gently and softly, absolutely never involved tongue or teeth and off course, she couldn't imagine anyone kiss her but Naruto. Sasuke had shattered her fantasies. He made her realize that her first kiss would never be Naruto. He showed her how to kiss and to be kissed and that a kiss could make her pant heavily for air and her head spin. He proved to her that hungry kisses could be just as satisfying as chaste kisses and that she was capable of enjoying it. Her cheeks heated as the memories of their kisses came flooding back, accompanying it was how she had grasped his chest in her hand. What worse was that she couldn't seem to erase that memory. Even now she could still feel the firmness and tenseness of it. _This is so embarrassing_. She thought as she tried to push all of that from her mind. Deciding that being alone here would only make her think of what she shouldn't, she quickly got out of the bathtub, grabbed the towel and wrapped it securely around her body. Her nice hot bath had been ruined by no one but her.

Hinata stood before the mirror, her right hand rose to wipe the steam. Her own face was soon revealed, pale eyes staring back at her. Her cheeks were a little pink, from the hot bath or out of embarrassment, she wasn't sure. In fact, there were lots of things she wasn't sure, such as whether or not her liking his kisses was just an effect of the potion or why none of the thoughts of Naruto had crossed her mind for a while.

Her pale eyes trailed to her lips, her mind replayed how his thumb traced her bottom lip asking her if it's hurt. It really doesn't hurt. She thought, but quickly push that thought away. Her heart was racing and she had to stop thinking about it.

Her hand found the lip balm in the pocket of her jacket. Take a deep breath, she wiped the mirror one more time before applying the lip balm on her lips. The lip balm had no colors, but somehow it made her feel prettier, which was quite strange.

Then she carefully put it back in the pocket, looked at herself in the mirror the last time before removing the towel. She quickly put on her clothes and quietly open the door. The room was dark, but with her keen eyesight, she could still make out the figure laying on the bed. He was asleep and she certainly wouldn't want to wake him up.

As silently as possible, she walked to the bedside table and pulled out the drawer. Inside were a pen and some papers she had bought this morning. Because she had slept enough earlier, she didn't feel sleepy at all and decided to write a letter to her family. Luckily, this room has a lamp and from its place which was on the table, its light didn't reach the bed so she wouldn't disturb Sasuke's sleep.

She started writing, putting her soul in every word she wrote. Her family must be frantic with worry, though the elders were worried more about her Byakugan than her well-being. That didn't matter, because this letter was to her father, Hanabi and her friends, not to the elders. She couldn't tell them much about her situation though, all she could write was that she was fine, Sasuke didn't hurt her and sooner or later she would return to Konoha safe and sound.

Her right hand paused. Something stung at her eyes and she quickly put the pen down. She used her sleeve to wipe at her eyes, finding it's her tears.

She wished this letter could be to Neji too.

* * *

It was midnight when he woke up. Looking around, he noticed Hinata was at the table. She had her head on the table and her arms folded under her head. She was sleeping in a quite uncomfortable position. Sasuke could say that he wasn't surprised to see her sleeping like that at all. This was the shy and timid Hinata after all. She would die from embarrassment before she could climb on the bed and sleep with him.

Giving a sigh, he left the bed and walked to her. He was about to wake her up, telling her to sleep on the bed, but decided against it. She probably would refuse. Crouching down a little, he gently picked her up, carrying her to the bed. She was light, he noted. He had expected her to wake up instantly and struggle against him and he was even prepared to tighten his hold, but to his surprise, she didn't. What even more surprising was that she snuggled closer to him, her face buried in his chest.

The girl didn't wake up as he laid her on the bed. He laid down next to her before pulling the cover on them. She might throw a tantrum when she woke up the next morning, finding herself sleeping next to him, but he didn't care. In fact, she should thank him for saving her from terrible neck pain.

Just when he was about to close his eyes and go back to his sleep, he heard her mumble something.

"Neji-niisan... I miss you."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

 **A/N** : Writing this chapter took longer than I expected, but finally I finished it. Thank you so much for favorites, follows and reviews. They really motivate me a lot.

 **6**

Hinata was confused.

The last thing she remembered after spending nearly 30 minutes writing a letter to her family and friends was falling asleep at the table, not on the bed, and definitely not with Sasuke. She had woke up snuggling into him, one arm draping over his stomach and face resting on his shoulder. What frightened her more, was the fact that she knew for sure that he didn't make her snuggle into him but she did it on her own.

Last night was strange though. She remembered having a nightmare, which was not very uncommon to her. What she did find strange was the fact that it had actually ended and changed into a dream. She had dreamed of her childhood with Neji when they're still naïve and the Hyuuga's curse hadn't dawned on them. She remembered in her dream last night Neji was sleeping with her as she cuddled him. The corner of her lips turned upward to a small smile as the memories from her childhood came flood back. Neji used to sneak into her room to take a nap with her, saying that it's his duty to protect her even in her sleep, though he always fell asleep first. Her dream last night was so real she could actually hear his steady heartbeat and his warmth spread through her body. Only when she woke up that she realized it's not Neji she was snuggling against but Sasuke.

She must have mistaken him as Neji. Though it's very embarrassing, she had to admit that snuggling into him felt very… good. He was warm and comfortable and she almost wanted to stay like this for good. Her cheeks heated as she caught what she was thinking. She was about to shake her head but quickly stopped in fear of waking him up. The only comfort she had right now was that he might not know that she was snuggling into him because, she reasoned, if he did, he would kick her out of the bed immediately. He hated touching and snuggling was the worst.

She took a deep breath, telling herself that everything would be fine. She had snuggling to him without him knowing last night, she probably could detach from him without waking him up, right? She hoped so. Then, she would act like nothing happen and she didn't snuggle against him or mistake him as her cousin. Very carefully and tentatively, she lifted her arm, pale eyes didn't leave his face for a second. Now she just had to pull her arm back, lift her head from his shoulder and… dark eyes were staring at her. Her mouth opened but before she could let out a gasp or a scream, he beat her to it. "What are you doing?" His monotone tone frightened her even more. Was it a calm before the storm or he really didn't kick her out of the bed immediately.

"I-I…" She began. "I'm s-so sorry." She quickly sat up, untangling herself from him. Her blushed deepened as his dark eyes followed her. "I-I thought you're…"

"Neji?"

"H-how you…" Her face paled, her embarrassment was forgotten. A lump was forming in her throat instead.

"You called his name in your sleep." He said as he slowly sat up, eyeing his shirt. It was dry now, but last night it had been wet with her tears.

"I-I…" She began, but nothing came out. It was always like that whenever someone mentioned Neji. She had so many things to say about him, how great and strong he was, how much she loved him and how she had cried every night even when it'd been 2 years since his death, but she couldn't. Words abandoned her, the lump in her throat only getting larger and larger. She felt hot tears fall on her cheeks and had to turn away quickly to hide those tears. She wiped her tears from her eyes with the back of her hand and swallowed hard. No, she didn't want to cry in front of him. "S-Sorry." She managed to say.

He didn't respond to her apologize, deciding to give her some moment to compose herself. He didn't know what she was apologizing for anyway.

Silence fell over them until her weak voice broke it. "Neji-niisan's my cousin. He died in the war to p-protect me and Naruto-kun."

Sasuke knew about her cousin. Neji was a strong shinobi and at a time he had wanted to test his power against him before leaving Konoha to join Orochimaru. Such a genius sacrificed himself to protect his cousin, just like his brother did for him. She probably didn't know it, but last night when she cried in her sleep, he had seen himself in her. He saw a girl who missed her niisan terribly, always blamed herself for his death, always told herself that if she wasn't so weak, if she was a little stronger, he wouldn't have died. He knew because he had been in her place since Itachi's death.

"I had nightmares last night." She muttered.

He had too, lots of them, but not last night. Last night was one of the rare nights and the first one in a long time that he had slept peacefully. He had witnessed her struggle in her sleep, tears rolling down her cheeks and hands gripping the front of her shirt as if trying to ease a heartache. He knew she was having a nightmare, he just didn't know what her nightmares were about until she whispered her cousin's name. That's when he knew what she was going through. The pain of losing a beloved one, the guilty of not being strong enough to be able to protect them and always blaming yourself for their death.

He hadn't known what to do then. He couldn't comfort her, he had absolutely no idea how. He deemed himself could only bring people misery. Just think of how many times he had made Sakura cry and that belief only strengthened.

He decided to leave her alone and would sleep somewhere else. But just as he was about to sit up, her arm circled his stomach in a tight embrace. His first instinct was to push her away or to even kick her out of the bed, but as the girl buried her face into his chest, he stiffened. Her hot tears dampened his shirt and her strangled voice whispered her cousin's name. He watched as she struggled in her sleep, wondering if he looked exactly like that whenever he had nightmares about the Massacre and Itachi, looking so hopeless and lost.

He blinked when her hold on him tightened. He hadn't realized she had stopped crying and now was sleeping soundly. Her face relaxed into a peaceful one and a shy smile was tugging at the corner of her lips. Her nightmare had probably gone away, though he didn't know how. How she could overcome her nightmare was a mystery to him. In his years of struggling with nightmares, he had never been able to defeat them and the only way to stop them was not sleeping at all.

Later he discovered she was mistaking him as her cousin. He didn't move, any thoughts of leaving her disappeared. He reasoned that if he was to leave her now, she would wake up, and when she woke up in the same bed as him, she would blush madly and start babbling nonsense about how embarrassing it was. Though he enjoyed seeing her blush, right now looking at her sleeping so peacefully was just better.

So he stayed. Her lavender scent soothed him and before he knew it, sleep overtook him.

He didn't have nightmares last night, which was very rare. Last night was the first night in a very long time that he had slept peacefully. No blood splashed on the wall of his home, no dead body laying on the ground or Itachi's last smile when he died, just nothing. He dreamt of nothing last night and he was really grateful for that.

"I did too." He said. "But not last night."

Hinata looked up at him in surprise, not expect him to speak at all. Then it dawned on her. She wasn't the only who had nightmares and hers probably wasn't the worst. He had been through worse than her.

She lowered her pale eyes to her small hands folding neatly in her lap, feeling so small. She knew about his brother and she couldn't imagine the weight he had been carrying in his shoulders all his life. Her life was hard, but it seemed to fade compared to his.

The nightmares were a reminder of the past. Hers was always about Neji sacrificing himself to protect her and she dreaded it. Those nightmares were so terrible that she always woke up in the middle of the night, sweating and panting heavily, her face wet with tears. _And his nightmares are for sure even worse than mine_.

It might be her kind nature, but she suddenly felt the need for comforting Sasuke but didn't know how. She wasn't Naruto after all. Naruto was the kind of person who wiggled into your heart and could brighten your mood even on the worst day. _No!_ She inwardly shook her head. She could comfort people. She knew she could because she had done it so many times before. She had comforted Hanabi when she failed her first A-ranked mission, Kiba when he lost one of his pups, Kurenai when Mirai got sick and had to be hospitalized and lots of other people, but not him. Sasuke was a special case. He basically was a stranger to her and just until recently that she got to know him a little better.

She frowned, thinking hard. She was not going to give up, there must be a way that she could help him.

"What's with that face?" His voice startled her and pale eyes looked up at him. He wanted to reach out to touch her forehead and smoothe it. A frown didn't look right on her face. A blush would be more suitable.

"I…" She began hesitantly. "I want to say thank you."

"For what?" He asked.

"For stopping the nightmares last night." She said softly. It was getting a little awkward, but she ignored it and pressed on. "I know you hate it when people invade your personal space, but you let me s-snuggle into you last night. I think my body must have mistaken you as Neji-niisan, so the nightmares had stopped."

"You used to sleep with him?"

"Only when we were kids," She elaborated. "And it stopped when his father died."

"Why?" He couldn't help but ask. Although the Uchiha clan was acquaintance with the Hyuuga clan and his father even told him that Hiashi was one of his old classmates and he deeply respected the man as a fellow clan leader, Sasuke never really knew much about them. He was too busy to get stronger and kill Itachi that any thought of the clan with the famous Byakugan had never crossed his mind.

"He blamed me and the Main house for his father's death. And he had the right to." She paused a little, not sure if she should continue and if he would want to listen to her story. When he remained silent, she felt encouraged. "N-Neji-niisan used to hate me a lot. He almost killed me in the Chunin exam. But he had changed, thanks to Naruto-kun, and so had our relationship. We grew closer. He cared for me, trained me and protected me not only out of duty but also because he's considered me as someone dear to him. Because of him, I become more confident and I learned to stand beside, not behind him. I vowed to him that someday, I would find a way to erase the cursed mark and he would be free. And I've failed him."

She bit her lip, trying to hold back the tears. She was supposed to comfort him, but now she was babbling like a kid. Her mouth opened to say something but stopped when he spoke.

"I spent most of my life hating Itachi. I left the village, joined Orochimaru, cut tie with my old team, I did all of these to get stronger and kill him. And when I did, I found out that all he had ever done was protect me and he loved me more than anything. I've killed the person who loved me the most." He didn't know why he was telling her this. When she poured her heart out to him like that, it's hard to not tell her something about his story. Maybe he was getting soft and this fact frightened him a bit, but he assured himself that he would tell her just a tiny bit. Besides, this wouldn't happen again.

"When he died, I felt like a failure." Her hand tentatively rose to touch her left chest. "It hurt here."

She was right. It hurt in the heart. It was a mixture of pain, regret and guilt that weighted so heavily on her she felt suffocated.

"If I haven't been so weak…"

… _I could have saved him_. He finished for her in his head. Though he didn't say it out loud, he knew she could hear it in her head.

"Neji loved his hair more than anything." She said a faint smile flickered across her face as she reminisced how obsessive Neji was with his hair.

"Itachi also loved his hair. But I think he loved dango more."

"O-Oh… I love them too. They're delicious." Her pale eyes brightened at the mention of her favorite dish. In fact, she loved everything that was sweet.

"No, they're disgusting." He disagreed, scrunching his face in distaste. How Itachi could love something so sweet was a mystery to him.

"You don't like something doesn't make them disgusting." She argued.

"Itachi made me try once and I swear it's the most terrible thing I've ever tasted."

"You should try my cinnamon rolls." She suggested. "You don't like dango doesn't mean you won't like other sweet dishes."

"I doubt I'll like it." He snorted softly.

"At least you won't hate it. I've spent years perfecting my recipe."

He started to get up, heading to the bathroom, deciding to not argue with her. They had to get to Orochimaru as soon as possible and they had wasted enough time talking this morning.

With his back turn to her, he spoke. "Maybe we're not so different after all." And he disappeared behind the door.

She didn't know about it, but inside the bathroom, he had to take a cold shower to stop the warm feeling spreading all over his body.

* * *

"T-Thank you." She said as she tied the letter securely around the hawk's leg.

"Just one letter?"

"Just one."

"No particular one for Naruto?" He asked in a scoffing voice.

"N-No," She answered, blushing a little. "But I did address him along with other friends."

"What did you write to him?"

She turned to him in surprise, not expecting that question at all. Or maybe he just wanted to make sure that she didn't disclosure their situation to anyone. "Don't worry. I didn't tell him about our situation. I only wrote that you need my help in something and that something doesn't involve betraying the village."

"Nothing else?" He snorted as if he didn't fully believe her.

"U-Um…" She blushed, avoiding looking at him by directing her gaze to the ground.

"Well?"

"I-I…." Her blush deepened and it irritated him to no end. Her blush had never bothered him until now.

"Did you confess to him, saying that you miss him greatly?"

"W-What? No. I didn't…"

"You told me you're not his girlfriend."

"I'm not." She exclaimed in frustration. No, she really didn't want him to know what she had written to Naruto.

"Then why are you blushing and flustering?"

"I-I wrote that he is right about you, that you're not cruel or ruthless as people portray you to be and deep down inside you're kind. I also confirmed that you didn't hurt me or force me to go with you... In fact, I'm willing to." She blurted out. "And that he doesn't have to worry about you because I'll take care of you." She panted when she finished. She didn't know what had made her say so much in just one breath. Maybe it's the embarrassment. If she talked fast enough, she wouldn't have time to blush madly or fluster.

She closed her eyes, expecting him to lash out at her, telling her that what she had written was ridiculous, that she knew nothing about him to write to Naruto like that and he didn't need her to take care of him. But she was met with silence. As she shyly looked up at him, her pale eyes widened in astonishment as something like a blush came to his cheeks. But she wasn't sure if it actually happened or it's just her imagination as it disappeared just as quickly as it appeared.

"You surely have written a lot." He said as he turned his face away, his hair hid part of his face from her view.

"Why are you acting like that?" She couldn't help but ask.

"What am I acting like?" He scolded, looking at her with his narrowed eyes as if he was challenging her.

"You're acting like when you thought I'm Naruto-kun's girlfriend."

"I'm not." He denied.

"Like it would irritate you if I really confessed to Naruto-kun in the letter."

"It wouldn't."

"Are you sure you don't like Naruto-kun like that… A-Ah!" She let out a squeak as he suddenly grabbed her waist, bringing her closer to him. Their front pressed closely against each other. "W-What are you doing?" She asked in a panic. Her hand instinctively put on his shoulder to push him away, making the hawk leave her forearm to perch on his master's shoulder.

"It seems you don't believe me when I said I'm straight…" He said, pressing her against him more firmly until he was sure she could feel something was touching her thigh. "I think I should prove it to you right now, right here."

A shudder racked her body as he dipped his head to bury his face into her neck. His lips didn't touch her, only the tip of his nose ran slowly along her neck. She raised her head to avoid his hair tickling her face, accidentally giving him more access to her neck and he wondered if she was conscious about what she was doing.

He took a deep breath of her lavender scent, reminding himself that he just wanted to scare her a little, nothing more, although he admitted she smelt really good and her skin felt so soft under the tip of his nose.

"S-Stop, S-Sasuke!" She said, feeling more panic than ever. The fact that something down there was touching her thigh made her even more frightened. She, of course, knew what it was, she just had never been this close to it before.

"Never assume I like him romantically again."

She could only nod her head, didn't trust her voice enough to say it out loud. Her move made her skin brush over his lips and he had to repress the urge to open his mouth and take that porcelain skin into his mouth. It was a sign that it's time for him to let her go before he could do something that he would regret greatly later.

She took a shaky step away from him as soon as he released her, a hand came to her left chest to calm her racing heart. No, this wasn't healthy at all. She was sure if this happened again it would damage her heart even more than any gentle fist stroke could do.

"Sasuke…" She said, then paused a little to make sure she had his attention. When he gave her a sideways look, she spoke in a soft but firm voice. "Please, never assume I'm Naruto-kun's girlfriend again."

"We're even then." He shrugged indifferently.

The girl pouted slightly at him, in her head thinking that he was acting strange and she had absolutely no idea what was causing it. Deciding that trying to understand him would be a futile effort, she focused again on her current task.

She reached out to him and he almost swatted her hand away but stopped when realized what she was about to do. She stroked the hawk's head and said softly. "Go." The bird on his shoulder squawked and soared into the clear sky, oblivious to his master's displeasure.

Sasuke didn't expect his hawk to listen so obediently to her like that.

* * *

It was late and Hinata wasn't able to sleep.

Though she had laid down on the ground for nearly 30 minutes, sleep evaded her. It must be because the ground was hard and cold, or the cricket chirping sounds was reminding her of Shino and all the night team 8 had spent in the forest, talking, joking and just being around each other. She missed her family and friends greatly.

Hinata looked at the man laying opposite her. He had his eyes closed and was lying still, but she wasn't sure if he was really asleep.

She blinked, and when she opened her pale eyes, the girl almost gasped out loud as the dark pair of eyes were staring at her. So neither could he sleep?

"U-Um… I…" She began, though she didn't know what she was going to say.

"Come here." He said, motioning to space beside him.

"E-Eh?"

"Do you want to have nightmares again?"

She got what he meant. He was offering to help her chasing the nightmares away so that she could sleep peacefully. She started recall last night, of how she had snuggled closely into him and felt his steady heartbeat under her head and her face immediately grew red.

"Um, I don't want to bother you," She refused politely. Though the prospect of snuggling into him and being able to sleep peacefully was very tempting, she was just too embarrassing to repeat last night.

"You're not. If I'm bothered, I won't offer you."

"But I…"

"Or do you want me to come to you?"

"No, I…"

"Don't make me get up and drag you here."

"O-Okay." She said timidly and got up. As she was near him, he moved a little to give her space. But she was taking too long and he was already impatient. Suppressing a sigh, he reached out wrapping his arm around her tiny waist. The girl could only let out a small squeak when she was abruptly pulled toward him. She fell ungracefully to space beside him with her back pressed against his front.

Hinata bit her lip nervously as she felt he buried his nose into her hair. The arm around her waist didn't lose but only tightened. Her face, of course, was hot and red as ever. She flinched slightly as the back of his other hand touched her face. And when he spoke, she could feel his hot breath muffled in her hair. "Your face is hot."

"I'm n-not sure this is a good idea." She protested weakly.

They didn't sleep like this last night.

"I'm not your cousin."

"I k-know." But he was supposed to represent her cousin's presence so that the nightmares of Neji's death wouldn't haunt her anymore, right?

Neji had never embraced her and made her fluster like _this_. Though when it came to Sasuke, he had every of her first.

"Just sleep." He muttered into her hair, ignoring her confusion.

Truthfully, he didn't do it only for her but also for himself. He, just like her, was dreaded of the nightmares. He thought he had been used to having nightmares after years of dealing with them, but he was wrong. After just one night of being able to sleep peacefully, of not having to wake up in the morning and pretending that he didn't suffer from them while in fact, they haunted him every night, Sasuke didn't want to endure those nightmares anymore.

He knew he was able to sleep peacefully last night was because of her, but he wasn't sure how she managed to pull it off. It could be her delicate lavender scent that always lingered around her, her warmth assured him that she was still alive and so was he, or it's simply an effect the potion had on him. Whatever the reasons were, only Orochimaru could tell.

It seemed he would have a lot to discuss with Orochimaru when they met.

He inhaled her delicate scent as her breath evened out, indicating that she had fallen asleep. Only when the girl was unconscious did she could be close to him without blushing furiously. Though seeing her with her signature blush was very amusing, he decided that having her in his arm, clam and placid like this wasn't too bad.

Soon, his eyelids felt heavy and he drifted into sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

 **A/N** : Thank you so much for your reviews, favorites, and follows. It means a lot to me.

I hope you can leave me a review because I love reading them.

* * *

 **7**

 _He's right. Sleeping together really stops the nightmares._ Hinata thought as she stared up at Sasuke's face.

They had slept together for a few days and the nightmare had stopped to occur. Her pale eyes were staring at his face, silently admiring his straight nose, soft cheek, and finally, chiseled lips. She suddenly had an urge to raise her hand and touch them with the tips of her fingers, but she resisted it. She was too shy to do that, and besides, her arms had already nested between their bodies. One of his arms wrapped securely around her waist, making any movements were impossible. The only thing she could do right now was admiring him with her eyes. Without the ever-present indifferent look on his face, he looked relaxed, and dare she say… at peace.

She was too busy to admire Naruto from afar that she never paid much attention to him. But being with him this close, she finally understood why girls went crazy about him. Though she wasn't the kind of girl who only cared about look, she appreciated it and she knew an attractive man when she saw one. Maybe this was the only good thing about this whole situation, that the man she had to kiss for 4 months was a very handsome one. Sasuke had once said that she would be over the ninth cloud if it was Naruto whom she had to kiss, but it actually would be a disaster because she couldn't imagine kissing him without passing out. _And he would want Sakura instead of me._ She thought and found it strange that she wasn't unhappy with that fact at all. In fact, she hadn't thought about Naruto for a while.

She lowered her pale eyes from his face to his chest, suddenly felt shy. No one was here to see her staring at him, but her shy nature couldn't let her stare at him for too long. Besides, he had the tendency of snapping his eyes open at any time and she couldn't afford him assume that she was ogling at him. Well, she was, but he didn't need to know.

Her pale eyes followed the steady rise and fall motion of his chest. She had touched it a few times when they kissed and even groped it once. She wondered if it's normal to touch him while kissing, or it's just one of the effects the potion had on her through him and she would feel nothing at the kisses once Sasuke was cured.

Did people touch each other when they kissed? No one had ever told her about it, and if someone did, she would be too embarrassed to listen. Sasuke didn't comment about it, but she guessed it's only because he's too indulgent in the kisses to care. These feelings were so confusing and she just wished Ino was here so she could ask the girl.

Her trail of thought was broken as she heard some rustle. Activating her Byakugan, she could see a group of 20 men was moving toward them, likely to be Sasuke's enemies again. They didn't look too dangerous or powerful, nothing that Sasuke or she can't handle, but she doubted he would let her fight them. Since the beginning of their travel, she hadn't had to lift a finger. He didn't let her. He was too strong and the enemies they had encountered were so weak that he had them laying on the ground and groaning in pain just in a matter of minutes. At least he didn't kill them. And if he did, she would have to interfere.

She opened her mouth, about to wake him up, but almost squeaked loudly as her pale eyes met his dark ones. Since when had he been awake? Did he know she had been ogling him like a fangirl?

"Let them come to us." He said.

She was relieved. He didn't know.

"You were staring at me like a fangirl."

Or maybe he did.

"I-I…" She started blushing madly. "I-I… just... I'm s-sorry. I don't know why I was doing that."

"Hn." He shrugged lightly, not bothered to comment.

As some moments passed in silence, she decided to say something that's had been in her mind for a while. "Sasuke…" She began, and as he gave her his attention, she continued hesitantly. "Do you think this…" She referred to the way their bodies pressing closely against each other, one of his arm wrapped tightly around her waist, and her head rested comfortably on his other arm. "…all of this is just an effect of the potion."

"Do you want it to be?" He asked.

"I d-don't know." She whispered. "What about you? Do you want it to be?"

"Whether I want it to be or not, it may be the potion that's talking, not me."

"Y-You're right."

Everything that had ever happened between them might not be their own doings but the potion's. He knew the potion had an effect on his chakra system that made him had to kiss her to stay alive, what he didn't know was if it could change his behavior. He wasn't blind to the fact that it seemed he couldn't control his behavior around her. She made him do what he didn't think he could ever do. He was getting soft.

He frowned, thinking hard. What troubled him the most was the fact that he knew he should want all of these to be effects of the potion, but he didn't because it would mean that once Orochimaru fixed him, the nightmares would come back with vengeance and even sleeping with her couldn't stop them. He also liked the feeling of relaxing and calm her lavender scent brought to him, not that he would ever admit it to her or anyone. And there was something else, something he couldn't put a finger on because he had never experienced anything like that before. It confused him and he hated confusion.

He was depending on her and it made him weak, but right now, all he felt was at peace. Maybe what he should do for now was just stop thinking and enjoy whatever peace he got when he can because after 4 months, whether this was an effect of the potion or not, everything would stop. He would continue to roam the earth and she would return to Konoha, probably never see each other again.

Sasuke tightened his hold around her as she tried to wiggle out. "What?" He asked.

"They're coming." She said softly.

Right, he almost forgot about those men. They're pretty close right now. He had intended on staying like this for a few more minutes, but it seemed they're moving at a faster pace than he had anticipated. Pulling his arm away from her, he slowly sat up and stretched his arms up and she thought he looked just like a lazy cat.

"Oh, sorry for interrupting your lovely moment."

She was startled by a gruff voice said and quickly sat up, cheeks flushing brightly. The last time she checked, they were not supposed to be here already. Now they saw her lying on the ground next to Sasuke and him sitting beside her, stretching after a good night's sleep, she couldn't help but blush at what that might imply. And he did call it "a lovely moment."

"It will be quick," Sasuke said and slowly got up, his sword in his hand. "Stay back."

"Don't k-kill them."

He didn't respond, only approached them at a sluggish pace. When you were too strong, fighting with those who were much weaker than you might be very boring. From what she knew, only Naruto could challenge him in a fight.

After roughly 15 minutes, all the 20 men had sprawled on the ground, most of them had passed out, but no one died. Sasuke stood among them and snorted. Those men were too foolish to think that they stood a chance against him. No one can, even Naruto. The fight at the Valley was a draw. But his chakra was a little low now and he would have to kiss her soon. As he was about to return to her, he noticed she had already come stand next to him.

"There are only 19 of them here. Where is the last one?" She wondered.

It happened too fast. Blood spattered on her face and jacket and her pale eyes widened. His sword sliced through the man's chest right behind her. His mouth gapped as blood dripped down from his chin. As he drew his sword out, more blood gushed out and spattered on her. He got some blood too, but most of it landed on her.

She was frozen. She couldn't move. Her brain couldn't process anything for a moment and only when the man fell down the ground with a thud that her gaze turned to him, still in her shock and horror. His eyes were vivid red, his lips set in a thin line and blood smeared his pale cheek. His expression was calm as if he didn't just kill a person. She had thought he wasn't the monster people portrayed him to be, but just looking at him right now and she couldn't stop the tremble raking over her body.

"Y-You killed him." She whispered.

"I just saved your life." He nonchalantly said.

"But you don't have to kill him."

"He tried to kill you."

"I can't remember how many times people have tried to kill me. That's part of being a ninja. But you…" She paused a little to take a breath as it's hard to speak with a lump in your throat. "You don't have to kill him. I know you don't because you're too strong that you do not need to kill him to stop him from killing me."

"You're being ungrateful."

"You don't have to kill him, you just chose to."

"And I would have killed him again if I had a second chance."

"Y-You…"

"Listen," He sheathed his sword, grabbing her elbow to stop her from running away. "You're here to keep me alive. And if anyone dares to touch you, I will kill them. I don't care if I have to, I'll just kill them."

"If you can't stop yourself from killing, let me handle them. I'm a kunoichi and I can fight them. You just stay back and watch and only interfere when needed."

"No. Your only job is to kiss me and that's it."

"I don't need to get your permission."

"You mean you will protect them from me?" He scoffed.

"Only when you try to kill them."

"You're too kind to be a ninja."

She flinched. She had heard it so many times before. _You're too kind to be a ninja. Being a ninja did not suit you._ She had heard it all, but hearing it from him, who she had started to consider as a friend, really hurt.

She clenched her fists tightly. Her shoulders were trembling violently, but not in shock or terror, but in anger. He knew nothing about her. Who he was to judge her? Kindness wasn't a weakness and it had taken her years to realize and embrace that.

Hinata pursed her lips and lowered her head, her indigo hair veiling her face from his view. Her pale eyes were met with the bloody corpse of the man, his face contorted in pain and terror. No, this was not a man. This was just a boy, maybe some years younger than he. He didn't deserve to die.

She felt his hands cup her face and raised it. The blood on her face smeared his fingers and he frowned hard. He wanted to wipe that dirty blood of her pale cheeks and take that blood-drenched jacket off her. That's man blood was tainting her and it was irritating him to no end. But first, he had to kiss her. She wouldn't have that furious look on her face when he kissed her senseless.

He leaned toward her, intending to capture her lips with his but was only met with her cheek as she turned her head to the side to avoid him. "What?" He asked, voice laced with annoyance.

"Do not kiss me." She almost yelled at him. She pushed him away and was a little surprised that he didn't try to hold her back. He always got to kiss her whenever he wanted and her trying to push him away had never worked before. She got over that little surprise quite quickly though and stormed out. She didn't want to kiss him, at least not when she was drenched in blood and so mad at him.

Her lash out taken him back a little and it took him a few seconds before he let out a sigh and shoved his hand into his dark hair in annoyance. He quickly followed her, but carefully not to let her notice, it would only make her angrier at him. And to think that he had thought she was the gentlest girl in the world… _God, girls are so frustrating._

* * *

Hinata found a lake nearby. She quickly took off her jacket and threw it on the ground. Kneeling over the bank, she splashed water all over her face, washing away every trace of blood. She breathed heavy, her pale eyes stung a bit from the water. She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head on it. Her face was clean off any blood, the blood on her jacket didn't soak to her mesh shirt, but she could still feel its presence all over her body and smell it metallic scent lingering around.

She was a kunoichi and she had killed before, but only when really needed and even then she couldn't do it without feeling something tug at her conscience. That boy didn't deserve to die and he had died right before her eyes and she could do nothing to stop it.

What Sasuke told her about her kindness hurt. She didn't need him to tell her she wasn't cut out to be a ninja. She already knew it because she had been told that so many times before, and despite that, it still hurt. Maybe she had expected too much from him.

"Miss, are you okay?" A timid voice asked and when she looked up, she was met with vivid blue eyes. She was speechless for a moment. Those eyes looked just like Naruto's that she almost thought he had found her.

"I…I…" She began, but no words came out of her mouth. Not only that his eyes looked just like Naruto's, but he also had the same blond hair as he did. The only difference was the absence of the 6 whiskers on his cheeks and he looked young, maybe one or two years younger than her.

"What happened?" He continued to ask, referring to the bloody jacket on the ground.

"I-I…I encountered a group of bandits." She lied.

"Are you okay?" He repeated his first question and walked to her with just a few strides of his long leg. He might be younger than her, but he was a head taller than her. Now with him closer to her, she noticed one more difference between him and Naruto. Unlike Naruto who was very energetic and exuberant, this boy seemed quiet and a little shy. "Are you hurt?"

She was too caught up in his vivid blue eyes that his question fell on her deaf ears. _He really looks like Naruto-kun_.

"Miss, do you hear me?" He asked again, this time louder and her face went red immediately. God, first Sasuke and now this boy? She really was becoming a fangirl, and she didn't even know who this boy was.

"S-Sorry, I just… You really look like one of my friends."

"Oh, what is his name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto." But it's not her who answered him. Startled, she turned and her mood which was just brightened a little by this boy turned sour immediately when she was met with a pair of red eyes. What was he activated his Sharingan for? This boy had no chakra, he was just a civilian. And he had that ugly grimace on his face as if she had done something very wrong like betray him or something.

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked as he walked toward them, his hand went to grab her wrist to pull her stand next to him.

"I'm Takao," He replied and one of his hands rose to scratch the back of his head in awkwardness. He looked even more like Naruto when he did that.

"And?" Sasuke promoted, seemed unsatisfied with his answer.

"I was collecting some herbs and flowers in the forest when I met your g-girlfriend." He said, referring to the basket in his hand.

"He is not my boyfriend." She denied immediately, which earned a deep frown from the man beside her. The boy did not notice it, but she had been trying to shake his hand off her wrist but it's all futile as his grip on her only got stronger.

"Oh, sorry…" He apologized. Though he was very curious about their relationship, he didn't dare to ask anything more. That man looked like he would slice his throat if he asked the wrong question, so he decided to steer the topic to a safer one. "I'm from a village nearby. I can lead the way if you wa…"

"No, thanks." Sasuke declined immediately. Actually, he didn't mind going to the village. In fact, the idea of sleeping on a comfortable bed instead of the hard cold ground was very tempting, he just didn't want to go to the village with _him._ That boy looked too much like Naruto and it's not even what irritated him the most, but how she was gazing at him. Did she also look at Naruto like that back in the village?

"B-But I need to go to the village." She protested.

"Give me a good reason why."

"I-I…" She hesitated, too shy to say it out loud. Mustering all of her courage, she tiptoed to whispered into his ear. "I n-need clothes."

His dark eyes fell on her full breast and how her shirt was stretched to its full limit. He was too irritated by the boy that he didn't notice that she had taken off her jacket and thrown it somewhere on the ground.

He couldn't help but gulp, which he had never done before. He knew _they_ were big because he had had them pressed firmly against him almost every time they kissed, he just never saw them without the thick layer of her jacket. Now he understood why she always wore that baggy and ugly jacket. It's not just a jacket but also a shield and what hid underneath was so… _No_. He shook his head slightly. What he was thinking? This nonsense needed to stop. Damn Orochimaru and his potion. He swore he would strangle that old man to the death when he was done fixing him.

"Fine." He said and turned to the boy. "Lead the way." He also needed clothes anyway. He couldn't walk around in a blood-stained shirt.

"Follow me." The boy said and she quickly followed him. As Sasuke was the last one to follow, he noticed she had a round butt too.

His hand rose to partly cover the lower part of his face as he felt his face heated. His life was really fucked up.

When they're a few meters away from the gate of the village, Takao abruptly stopped. As her pale's eyes looked at him in question, he only smiled and processed to take off his coat. He threw it around her and fastened the buttons securely. "You can have this."

"T-Thank you." She said, blushing a little.

"You can thank me by telling me your name." He said and offered her his biggest grin. His white teeth showed and his blue eyes narrowed into slits. Even his smile looked like Naruto's.

"O-Oh, right. Sorry. I'm Hinata and he is Sasuke." She introduced.

The boy nodded his head and continued to lead them toward the village.

Sasuke watched their exchange with a grimace on his face. He felt like his Sharingan wanted to activate on its own and he had to take a deep breath to calm down. The only reason he hadn't killed this boy yet was the fact that he didn't have a jacket and didn't want her to enter the village without one on.

The village is small. There were not many people on the streets. After a few minutes of walking, they stopped at a small clothing shop. Fortunately, Hinata managed to find a jacket similar to her old one. Sasuke also found a grey shirt that looked quite good on him. _In fact, everything looks good on him_. She thought with a little envy. He could wear an ugly garment and still looked good.

After paying for their clothes, they left the shop. Just as Sasuke thought that now the boy could leave them alone, he just had to prove him wrong.

"Are you hungry? I know a really good place to eat."

"Yes, thank you."

"No, thanks."

"Actually, we've already arrived," Takao said with an awkward smile, not oblivious to the tense air around them. He noticed the girl took a deep breath as if trying to calm herself down and turned away from the man. But Sasuke is a different story. He looked like he wanted to murder someone and he was afraid that someone was no one but him.

It was a bakery shop and when she entered the shop, she had to put a hand over her mouth to muffle a gasp. _It's beautiful_. The shop had every pastry that she could ever think of. Donuts, cheesecakes, macarons, cupcakes, and… "Cinnamon rolls." She almost squealed in delight and ran to the glass case that displayed her favorite treat.

Takao took a cinnamon roll out of the case and handed it to her. "Try it."

She excitedly put in her mouth and almost cried because it's delicious. "It's so good."

"I made it."

"R-Really? So you…"

"I work here as an apprentice. The chef is my mentor."

"This cinnamon roll is so good. It's even better than mine." She gushed.

"I can share my recipe if you want."

"Really?"

"Of course. One tip is that you should use soft, room temperature butter in the dough because soft butter can easily incorporate into the dough."

"Noted that." She nodded her head. "But I notice that my dough takes too long to rise."

"It's because your milk isn't heated enough."

"The frosting…"

"STOP IT." The two startled at the angry voice of the man and turned to him with widened eyes. "You two stop it right now."

"S-Sasuke?" She was taken aback a little by his outburst, though she didn't know what he was angry at. Had she done something wrong?

She gasped a little as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her flush to him. "Take what you want we're leaving."

"B-But I…" She started to protest.

"NOW!"

She was speechless for a moment. She had always thought of him as someone who was very composed and almost nothing could make him lose his cold, but right now, she could tell that he was pissed. She knew a serious hint when she saw one and this one was not only serious but also very oblivious. She should do as he told her to if she didn't want him to murder someone, Takao for specifically.

"Sorry." She turned to the boy with an apologetic smile. "I'd like 8 cinnamon rolls, please."

Takao only nodded his head nervously and handed her a bag with 8 cinnamon rolls as she requested. She noticed his hands trembled a bit when he gave her the bag and couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Sasuke had definitely scared the daylight out of him.

As soon as she got the bag in her hand, Sasuke gave the boy one last glare and dragged her away.

He didn't believe in love at first sight, but hate at first sight was definitely possible and he was experiencing it right now. The moment he saw the boy he knew he would hate him. That boy had seen Hinata without her jacket and he just wanted to active his Sharingan to erase his memory of her… chest forever, or better, just kill him because the death couldn't tell. As if the fact that he looked too much like Naruto wasn't enough, he just had to be a really good baker.

They had just met each other and she acted like she had known him for years. Was it what they called mutual interests? He didn't care. She acted like he didn't exist. She was too busy to gush about her cinnamon rolls that she didn't even spare a glance at him. She had spent most of her life ignored him to pin after Naruto and it had never bothered him before, but it did now.

The door to the room they rented almost fell off its hinges as Sasuke slammed it shut. She gasped as she was thrown on the bed. She was about the get up on her elbows but was met with his face just a few inches from hers. Her breath hitched in her throat as she could see the anger in his red eyes. She felt like a prey facing its predator with no way to escape.

He inched closer to her until their lips almost touched. She thought he was going to kiss her, but he didn't. He only whispered in a husky voice.

"Kiss me."

She felt a shiver running down her spine. She didn't know he had that voice. Her face burst into flame, but she tried to stay calm. "No." She said firmly.

"What?" Her refusal surprised him a bit. She wasn't supposed to be able to refuse him when he used _that_ voice. No women could. But after all, she was not like most women.

"You don't need to kiss me until tomorrow."

"You never refuse me before."

"You killed one person. This is your punishment."

A smirk appeared on his lips as he inched closer to her, their lips touching but not really kissing. "Have you ever been able to stop me when I want to kiss you?"

"Not this time." She put on a winning smile, took a cinnamon roll out from the bag, and put it in her mouth.

"What? Are you eating right now?" He asked in disbelief.

"I'm eating this cinnamon roll so that you can't kiss me." She knew he hated sweets and he wouldn't be able to stand the sweet taste in her mouth. So she had won for the first time… or not?

The winning smile on her face fell as the smirk reappeared on his lips. The girl squeaked in surprise as he dipped his head and started to kiss her neck.

"If your mouth is not available, I'll just kiss your neck." He said between kisses.

"W-wait! S-stop…"

He heard her, he just didn't care. She thought not letting him kiss her lips was a punishment? It's more like a reward right now.

Kissing her neck felt just as good as kissing her lips, though he didn't feel any chakra surge through him. He trails the kiss down her elegant neck, nuzzling with his nose and took in her lavender scent. As his lips felt her pulse, he opened his mouth to take all of that soft skin in and sucked gently. He could hear her gasp, but it might be a pleasant one. He bit her before licking the slightly purpled skin with his tongue. He decided that he liked that mark.

He felt her hands put on his shoulders to try to push him away, futilely though. When he sucked her, her hands would tremble and clutch tightly to his shoulders. When he bit her, one of her hand slid to his nape, slightly touching his hair and he felt himself pur in excitement.

She didn't struggle against him anymore. She clutched to him and blushed madly. Whenever she thought she was going to pass out, he pulled her back with a gentle bite and a playful lick. Her first kiss on the lips was him, and now even her first kiss on the neck was also him? What else of her first that was going to be his? She didn't dare to think of it.

She didn't know what to feel and felt too much at the same time. It's similar to when he kissed her on the lips, but not entirely the same. Because he was so uncaring and indifferent, she had thought that his kiss would be just like that, uncaring and indifferent, but he proved her wrong time and time. When he kissed her, she felt wanted and even beautiful, and it both excited and scared her.

He trailed his kiss to her collarbone, biting and sucking lightly before going lower and lower… _Not now._ He forced himself back to her neck, kissing her neck some more before starting to kiss her jaw.

Her hands moved on its own. One of them rose to tangle into his dark hair, feeling his soft strands. She didn't know boy hair could be that smooth, but after all, she didn't know much about him. He always surprised her one way for another.

A shiver ran down her spine as she felt he moved his lips near her ear. His warm breath tickled her and he whispered it that husky voice again. "I suggest you go rinse your mouth immediately."

"U-Um…" She tried to say. "You have to let me go first."

He pulled away from her, taking a full look at her neck and couldn't help but be proud of his work. Red spots scattered her porcelain skin and one or two bite marks were starting to show. He thought they looked good on her and when they faded, he would like to make them again.

The girl frantically sat up and used the hands to tentatively touch her neck. He could see her face went even redder and she quickly arranged her long hair around her neck to fully covered it. Sasuke wanted to pull her hair away to reveal those marks. He was proud of them after all. She could put her hair into a ponytail or a bun anyway. And that's exactly what he would do.

Hinata let out a little squeak and he suddenly took full hold of her hair, but then he was at lost for what to do. He didn't know how to do a ponytail or a bun so that he just sat there and hold her hair like an idiot. Finally, after a few seconds, he let out a sigh and only gathered her hair over one shoulder. _That would do for now._

She was speechless and her face almost burst into flame. He wanted those marks to be shown!

"I don't know what's so good about these."

"Eh?" She asked, not really got what he was talking about.

"Cinnamon rolls." He elaborated.

"O-Oh… They're d-delicious."

"No, they are too sweets."

"My mother used to make them when I was young."

"Your mother?"

"She loved baking and cinnamon rolls were her favorite." She said and took one cinnamon roll out from the bag. She looked at the treat in her hand fondly. "These are good, but mother's were perfect."

"And I thought you're crazy about that boy's baking skills." He snorted.

"His cinnamon rolls lack something that only mother's had."

"Love."

She nodded her head in agreement. He was right. Her mother's love was what had made her cinnamon rolls so special.

Hinata's love for sweets wasn't the main reason why she loved baking. Her mother used to teach her how to bake and it connected her to her mother. Whenever she baked, she felt as if her mother had never gone, she was still here, in the kitchen, wearing her white apron and fingers coated in flour. She baked in memory of her mother.

His mother also put love in her origini. She also loved baking and Itachi used to say that her dango was perfect. Although he hated sweet, his mother's dango would be an exception.

He suddenly realized that she looked like his mother. They both had long hair, a round face, soft voice, and a gentle smile. They both moved with grace as expected from a lady of a royal clan. And they both calmed him in his sleep, chasing the nightmares away.

"I know you hate sweet, but..." She said, raising the cinnamon rolls toward him with a soft smile. "You should try once at least."

He looked at cinnamon rolls, contemplating for a moment. He would try it, but not directly.

He curled his fingers around her chin, tilting her head and captured her lips in a soft kiss. He could tell that she was taken aback but then relaxed after a few moments. He gently licked her lips, tasting the sweet flavors of the cinnamon rolls with his tongue. Sliding his tongue in her mouth, he found hers and lightly teased it with his. He gently bit on her bottom lip, earning a soft moan from her and it encouraged him. His hand tangled in her indigo hair, adjusting her head so that he could fully kiss her. He made sure not an inch of her lips was left without his kiss.

She let out a soft sigh as he finished the kiss with a lick. She watched as he pulled away from her, face blushing brightly. When she suggested him to try cinnamon rolls, this was not what she meant.

"I still don't like cinnamon rolls, but it's not as bad as I thought it was."

"I... I..." She began, but no word came out as all she could do was blushing madly.

"Guess you don't have to go rinse your mouth anymore." He shrugged casually as if he hadn't just tasted his first cinnamon roll from her mouth.

She grabbed the bag of cinnamon rolls on the bed and started eating. She didn't need to rinse her mouth, but she definitely needed to calm herself down by eating all 7 cinnamon rolls left.

Sasuke only gave her a smudge smirk.

She definitely was someone he would like to tease every day.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

 **A/N** : Thank you so much for your reviews, favorites, and follows. They really encourage me a lot. You guys and my love for my all-time OTP are what keep me writing.

I hope you can leave me a review because I love reading them.

One of my readers asked for the rescuing team's POV, so here it is. I hope this won't disappoint you ;)

* * *

 **8**

"You're leaving already?" Takao asked, voiced lanced with shock.

"U-Um, yes. We have somewhere to go to." Hinata replied, feeling a little unhappy because she couldn't stay for longer. She liked this boy and really wanted to learn more about baking with him.

"W-Why don't you stay for a few more days. I have a lot of dessert recipes that I want to share with you."

"Sorry, but we really have to leave." She gave him a weak smile.

"We have a festival upcoming. Why don't you stay so that you can enjoy it? It's very fun and I'm sure you'll like it."

Hinata's pale eyes glanced at Sasuke for a moment in expectation, but when all she received was a scold, she gave a sigh and turned to the boy. "Sorry, but we really can't stay."

"Please, just a few more days." Takao pleaded. His hand reached out to hers in an attempt to persuade her but stopped when a pair of red eyes glared at him. Before he could utter a word, Sasuke took a step toward him in annoyance, shielding the girl from the younger man.

"Back off." He hissed.

Takao took a step back in terror. The man's aura had darkened significantly with killing intent as if he was already ready to murder him. He contrasted starkly with the girl behind him. It's like day and night. While he was dark, mysterious and uncaring, she was light and she cared too much. Even someone who had just met them could tell that and he couldn't understand why they were together. She said they were not dating or anything, but he acted like he would murder any men who dared to come close to her.

"Sasuke, you're scaring him." She said, putting a hand on his arm. His red eyes shifted to her in annoyance. She had her head slightly tilted to the side, pale eyes bored into his dark ones in a silence plead to stop scaring the boy and let her handle this. He frowned hard, as if challenging her, and he gave a sigh when the girl refused to back down. His red eyes softened a little before turning back to their dark color.

He didn't fail to notice that her touch didn't disgust him as other girls' would. In fact, it calmed him and displeased him at the same time. She was using the effect she had on him to defend that boy. So what if he was scaring him? It's not like he was going to kill him or anything, though he would love to.

She took a step forward, once again standing before him. Giving the boy a sincere smile, she tried to comfort him. "I'm sorry that we can't stay longer. But I think I can return in a few months, that is… if you still want me to."

"A few months?" The boy asked in confusion.

"There is somewhere Sasuke and I need to go to and it will take us a few months, but when I return, it will be only me and we can spend some time together."

"No." She almost let out a small squeak as Sasuke grabbed her wrist and pulled her flush to him. He, once again, shielded her from Takao. "She is not going to return here." Giving the boy his last glare as a warning, he dragged her away.

He ignored her as she tried to tug her hand away. He was much stronger than her and he would not let her go until they were out of this damn village. God, he hated this place and hated that boy even more. He walked fast, not oblivious to the fact that she was struggling to catch up to him. Her short legs didn't help her much anyway.

"Sasuke!" She called, but he only gave her silence, only keeping on walking fast. Though she couldn't see his face, she knew he was having an ugly grimace. "Sasuke, stop!" She tried again, and this time, surprisingly, worked.

"Because he looks like Naruto?" He turned around and questioned her in an angry voice.

She didn't answer him right away, instead, she busied nursing her wrist with a grimace on her face. With how tightly he has gripped her wrist, a red mark was starting to show. She could feel he was getting impatient with her silence, but she really didn't want to discuss the topic of Naruto with him. With all of the confusing emotions she was having recently, Naruto was the last thing she wanted to talk about and definitely not with _him_.

She used to think that she could be uncertain about anything, but her feeling for Naruto was never one of them. She had loved him for most of her life, even sacrificed her life for him, but since her journey with Sasuke began, her constant thoughts of Naruto had stopped. And she felt… content. No more thinking about him, wondering why he hadn't given her an answer for her confession or questioning if she was good enough for him. All of these were possible was because of Sasuke, or the potion?

"I don't want to talk about Naruto-kun." She murmured softly. She walked past him with her head lower, her long hair veiling her face from his view. No, she wouldn't say anything about Naruto until she could figure out what her confusing emotions were.

The girl couldn't walk more than five steps when she was abruptly pulled back. His fingers dug into her right arm painfully and she winced slightly. She could feel anger in every fiber of his and she found herself hot angry too. Who was he to question her feeling for Naruto and get mad at her when she refused to answer him? She tried to shake his hand off her, but his grip on her only got stronger. Her pale eyes snapped to his, not surprised at all when she was met with a pair of red eyes. If he wanted to scare her with his Sharingan, then it was not going to work.

"Let me go!" She said firmly.

"Are you in love with Naruto so much that you're willing to date someone who looks like him?" He questioned angrily.

Her pale eyes widened at him. His question was like an insult to her and she was pissed. She might love Naruto, but she wasn't so desperate that she had to use someone who looked like him to replace him. Her conscience wouldn't allow her. But how could he understand? He had every woman in the world throwing themselves at him and he wouldn't give them so much a glance, while she couldn't have the only man she wanted. He would never know how she felt and therefore, he didn't get to question her feelings and insult her for it. Hinata was so pissed that she blurted out something she never thought she could say.

"F-F-Fuck y-y-yo…u."

"Yes, please." He shrugged.

Her pale eyes widened and words died in her mouth at his nonchalant response. "Y-You're unbelievable."

"Answer my question." He demanded.

"My personal life is none of your business."

"I thought you're a shy girl, and you want to spend time together with a boy you just met yesterday because he looks like Naruto? Hinata, I can't believe you."

"Don't drag Naruto-kun into this."

"Why? I think you love him? Don't you want to brag to me about how great he is?"

"He doesn't love me." She almost yelled in frustration. She rarely snapped but bottled her negative emotions up inside her. She would rather suffer it alone than let bother other people with her problems. She told herself that if she buried it deep enough, didn't talk about it and no one mentioned it, she would eventually forget it, but how wrong she was. It weighed down on her like a rock, clouded her mind with doubt, and caused her heartache.

There she had said it. She had said he didn't love her, something she had never told anyone, no one told her, yet everyone knew. It's the elephant in the room.

Silence fell over them, and although it felt suffocating, she didn't intend on breaking it. She had nothing left to say, so she just waited for him to say something, probably to tell her how pathetic she was, and maybe that's exactly what she needed right now. She needed someone to tell her straight to her face that she should stop loving him because there could be nothing between them but friendship and being persistent would only make her pathetic and stupid. And who could be that someone better than him – Naruto's best friend?

She didn't protest as he suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her to somewhere. She didn't know if she was imagining it or not, but his hold on her wrist felt possessive. They arrived at a clearing a few minutes later. She looked at him in confusion, wondering why he dragged her here. Before she could voice her confusion, he spoke. "Spar with me."

"E-Eh?" She definitely was taken aback by his request.

"You are an idiot in love, but not in battles, are you?" He asked and she could hear the challenging in his voice.

"No. I am not." She said with determination.

"Prove it to me."

A smirk flickered at the corner of his mouth as veins started to protruded at her tempers. This would be his first time to spar with a Hyuuga member and by the way she gracefully got into her stance, he knew she wouldn't disappoint him.

* * *

Naruto could hear the buzzing of Shino's insects, Sakura's gasp, Kou's hitched breath before a tense silence fell over them. But the quick beating of his heart continued to echo in his ears as he gripped the bloody jacket is his hand. His chest contracted with overwhelming pain and anger. This blood-drenched jacket belonged to Hinata and it could mean she was heavily injured. This much blood could even mean death.

A few moments passed by. His shoulders trembled slightly and when he looked up, all he saw were her pale eyes filled with pain and anger. She was hurt and she was angry because he couldn't find her quick enough to save her from Sasuke. It took him a few moments to realize it was Kou's eyes he was looking at, not hers. He looked away, ignoring Kou's deathly glares piercing holes thorough his head. The man probably was blaming everything on him and he couldn't agree more.

"Let me see," Sakura said and he didn't protest as she took the jacket from him. She inspected the jacket carefully, looking for any trace that Hinata might leave on it. As she inspecting it, a small frown crossed her brown. "The jacket is intact."

"That means…" Kou said, his voice laced with relief.

"This might not be her blood." Shino finished for him, the buzzing sound around him ceased down a bit.

"This could be Sasuke's blood." She said in worry.

"Please," Kou scoffed. "As if there was someone who could even touch him to make him spill this much blood."

Sakura didn't respond to Kou, only looking at the jacket in worry. Although what Kou said was true, she couldn't stop herself from worrying for him. It's in her blood to worry for her teammates even when they were probably the most powerful ninja in the world. Besides, her medic instinct always kicked in when she saw this much blood, whether it's her friend's blood or not.

She glanced at Naruto, noticing the tension in his shoulders had lessened a bit. He hadn't said a word since they found the jacket, which was unusual. He usually couldn't keep his mouth shut for an entire 5 minutes and his silence really had her worried. She thought she partly understood his dilemma. After all, Sasuke was her teammate too and she cared for him no less than Naruto did, and although Hinata wasn't her closet friend, she liked the girl a lot. To have Sasuke kidnapped Hinata and probably hurt her, she really didn't know what to do.

"My bug told me there is also some blood nearby, but no bodies can be found," Shino said, a small bug perching on his finger.

"Can you find any trace of Sasuke and Hinata?" Sakura asked.

"There are some traces of fighting, but no specific ones about them."

They all felt disappointed. A bloody jacket could lead them to nowhere. They didn't even know who the blood on the jacket belonged to.

"There is a village nearby. We can go there to see if we can find anything." Shino suggested and the group nodded their heads in agreement. If Sasuke and Hinata had been here before, chances were they had gone to the village to at least get some supplies.

Sakura didn't protest as Naruto took the jacket from her. He folded it neatly and put in his backpack, all the while didn't speak a single word. When Shino and Kou were a few meters ahead of them, she spoke to Naruto in a low voice so they wouldn't hear her. "You should have faith in him."

"I have always had faith in him, haven't I?" Naruto replied.

"Sasuke-kun can be a lot of things, but a kidnapper is not one of them. There must be a reason."

"I could forgive him even when he tried to kill me, but if he hurt Hinata… I can't, I really can't…" Naruto clenched his jaw tightly. He was angry at Sasuke, but most of all, he felt guilty toward Hinata. It's not technically his fault that Sasuke kidnapped her, but if he could save Sasuke, could bring him home, all of this would have never happened. Out of all people he could kidnap, Naruto wondered why he had to kidnap Hinata. He couldn't think of a reason why. Why the eldest daughter of Hiashi and the girl who had had a crush on him for the longest time?

He felt a pang of guilt hit his chest. He was very aware of her feeling for him, he just never addressed it. She made him felt safe. Even if the entire whole world was against him, he was sure she would still support him. She was a nice person. In fact, she was so nice that he even felt safe to not address her confession. It was safe to delay giving an answer to her because he knew she would wait for him and never leave him.

Too immersed in his thoughts, Naruto only realized they had arrived at the village when the laughing and talking sound of people on the streets reached his ears. Blue eyes looked around, trying to find a pair of pale eyes though he knew it's all futile. The chances of running into them on the streets were nearly impossible.

They stopped at a bakery shop as Sakura wanted something sweet. As they were waiting in the line, something caught her eyes. "That guy really looks like Naruto." She said, making the men turned their head toward where she was pointing.

"And he acts like you too," Shino said as the boy flashed a grin at the customer and fold his arms behind his head in a carefree manner.

Naruto watched the boy closely. He himself had to admit they looked alike. They both had blonde hair, blue eyes, and the same figure. Judging by the apron he was wearing, it seemed he was a worker at the shop. He was busy talking to a customer, completely unaware of four pairs of eyes watching him curiously. They knew that people could look like each other, but it's the first time they actually witness one. Draw 6 whiskers on the boy's cheeks and he would look just like Naruto, only a little younger.

The boy suddenly caught them staring at him. He said something to the customer and when she smiled at him and waved him goodbye, the boy quickly walked to them.

"Excuse me. Are you Naruto?" The boy asked when he reached the group, his blue eyes looked directly at Naruto.

"Eh? How do you know my name?" He asked in confusion.

"Someone said that I really looked like you."

"Who?" This immediately got the group's attention.

"Her name is Hinata."

"Does she have eyes like me?" Kou stepped forward so the boy could see his eyes more clearly.

"Yes. But her eyes are a little violet." The boy answered. The man's eyes surprised him a bit as he didn't think there could be some else who had eyes like Hinata's.

The group was shocked, so shocked that it took them a few seconds to process everything. Finally, they found something. Naruto was the first to react. He grabbed the boy's shoulders, making him flinch slightly. "Where is she?"

"I don't know. She left a few days ago."

"There was a young man with her, right?" Sakura asked.

"Yes. His name is Sasuke."

"Were they okay? Was any of them injured or anything?"

"They're fine. But Hinata said they encountered a group of bandits."

The group looked at each other in understanding. Now they could easily figure out something. The blood on Hinata's jacket must belong to the bandits.

"Do you know where they went?" Shino asked, while his bugs were secretly scanning the entire village for any trace of Sasuke and Hinata.

"I don't know. She only said that they needed to head to somewhere."

"Did he hurt her or threaten her?" Kou asked.

"No. Why would he do that? They seemed comfortable around each other."

The boy eyed the group nervously. When Hinata said he looked like someone named Naruto, he never thought there would be a day where he could actually meet him. And they indeed looked alike, Hinata didn't exaggerate at all. Their meeting was not like what he had expected though. He had expected a friendly and pleasant meeting with a handshake and a pat on the back and then he could ask Naruto about Hinata, not being bombarded with questions like this. The group seemed very serious and it unnerved him.

"Did Sasuke treat her well?" Naruto asked what seemed like his final and most important question. The four looked at him with a grim expression and he got a feeling that if they didn't like his answer, there would be a disaster. Why such a nice girl like Hinata had weird friends? Firstly Sasuke, who seemed like he wanted to murder him all the time and now this group with a serious aura like they were on a mission to rescue someone from a dangerous criminal.

"He treated her well." He finally got his words out.

He could see the group relaxed a little, except the man who had the same eyes as Hinata. He still had a grim look on his face as if the fact that Sasuke had treated Hinata well was very suspicious.

"Thank you for letting us know. We really appreciate it." Sakura said politely after a few moments.

"You're w-welcome." The boy replied.

Noticing he was fidgeting with his apron and his eyes seemed to look anywhere but them, she forced out a small smile. "You see, we're just very excited to hear about Hinata and Sasuke because we haven't seen them in a while."

He didn't fully believe them, but he nodded his head anyway. Although he really wanted to ask them about Hinata, he got a feeling that they wouldn't like that.

Sakura smiled again as she paid for her cakes. "Well, we got to go now. Thank you again."

And the group quickly left the shop. They knew exactly what to do now.

* * *

He couldn't take his eyes off her.

Hinata was laying on the ground, breathing heavily. Some of her long hair stuck to her face with sweat, the rest spread beneath her like a halo. Her face was covered in a pink hue, though not quite as deeply as when she was embarrassed. He had seen her fluster so many times that it would feel strange if her face didn't hold her signature blush.

He noticed her neck was glistening with sweat. He was sweating too, but not as much as her. It had been a while since the last time someone managed to make him break a sweat. They had sparred a few times for the last couple of days and he had to say their sparring was not like what he had expected it to be. He had expected an easy spar with him completely dominating her. He still did, but not without some difficulty. Her skills were no match to him, but they're good. With what she had shown him earlier, he acknowledged her as a good kunoichi, though he would never say it out loud.

She mostly used her clan technique Gentle fists and it was dangerous. She didn't have sheer strength like Sakura did but rather relied on her ability to lock chakra points and paralyze her opponent. Just one gentle touch from her and he would be paralyzed for days. He enjoyed her small hands caressing his hair and gripping his shirt when they kissed, but he had never realized how deathly they could be.

Her pink and plump lips opened slightly as she tried to catch her breath. Her chest rose and fall with every breath she took, stretching her jacket and he found himself staring at _them_. Even with her jacket on, he could still see the line of her breasts.

He didn't know how she could wear that jacket in this weather. It seemed very thick and the weather was hot. Besides, she had sparred with him for hours and was sweating profusely. She must be very hot right now and her jacket would only suffocate her.

"You should take off your jacket." He said without thinking.

"Why?" She turned her head to look at him in confusion.

"You're hot."

He saw her face went red and it took him a few seconds to realize what his words might imply.

"That's not what I mean." He elaborated. "What I mean is you should take off your jacket because you're hot."

The girl immediately sat up, looking at him with widened eyes. One of her hands clutched her jacket tightly in a protected manner and it only irritated him more. If he really wanted to do something with her, as if that ugly jacket, or anything or anyone could stop him. He never felt the need to explain himself to anyone before, but he did now, specifically to her. "No. You're misunderstanding me."

"Y-You…" She began, but no word came out as her face only got redder and redder.

"The weather is hot, but you're hotter with that ja…" _Ugh_. He turned away, one hand ran down his face in frustration. This must be an effect of the potion. There were no other explanations why he was acting like an idiot. He turned to her again with a serious face, this time determined to get her to understand him. "No. Listen. I…" His words died in his mouth when he felt something… someone was coming. Looking over Hinata, she seemed to notice it too.

Without saying a word, Hinata active her Byakugan, scanning the area as far as her eyes could. Her vision stretched for miles until she saw someone she would usually be happy to see, but not now. "They're coming at us." She whispered.

"Who?" Sasuke asked impatiently.

"Shino-kun, Naruto-kun, Sakura-san, and… Kou-niichan?" Hinata couldn't hide her surprise to see her caretaker.

"Kou?"

"He was my caretaker when I was young."

"He has Byakugan, doesn't he?"

"He does."

"Can he see us?"

"No, I don't think so. His range is smaller than mine." In fact, she could proudly say that her Byakugan had the largest range in the Hyuga clan. "But we should be going soon," Hinata said and quickly stood up.

Sasuke abruptly grabbed her arm, stopping her from taking another step. "How far until he can see us?"

"Soon. A few kilometers."

He frowned thoughtfully as if he was pondering hard on something. His dark eyes didn't leave her pale ones. Instead, they bore deep into hers and if it's not for the team coming right at them, she would stutter and bushed madly. "We should be going now." She repeated, trying to tug her hand out of his hold.

His hold only got stronger and it seemed he didn't plan on letting her go anytime soon.

"Sasuke, what's wrong?" She asked in worry but was met with silence. "We have to go now. If we don't, they are going to see us."

A few minutes passed by and she was getting more and more frustrated with him. The team was getting close and Kou would see them soon. Did he want to be seen? She thought he wanted to stay as far away from Konoha shinobi as possible, especially his old teammates?

"Sasuke!" She almost screamed at him. "We have to go now."

"Can Kou see us now?" He asked.

"No. But he will soon."

He said nothing in reply and it only frustrated her more. "Do you want to be seen?"

"Yes."

Her pale eyes widened. Did he go insane? He had made it very clear to her that he hated Konoha and now he wanted to be seen by the team Konoha sent out to search for them. It didn't make any sense.

She was about to open her mouth to say something, but her words died as a pair of pale eyes looked straight at her. They were in Kou's range now. She could see his eyes widened in both shock and happiness. He must be happy to see her alive and healthy after being kidnapped by the most dangerous criminal in the world. She should be happy too, but strangely, she didn't. All she was feeling right now was nervous.

She saw him say something to the other shinobi, probably informed them that he had found her, and they immediately speeded up. A determination was written clearly on their faces.

Hinata realized she didn't unconsciously focus on Naruto as she did before.

"Can he see us now?" Sasuke's voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"He is seeing us." She replied.

"Naruto is on the team, right?"

"He is."

She couldn't hide her confusion when a smirk graced his mouth. He only smirked when he planned on doing something devilish… or when he wanted to embarrass her.

Hinata froze when she felt a pair of soft lips on her own. He was kissing her! She was so shocked that she let him kiss her for a few moments and only started to struggle against him when the shock waned off.

"S-Sasuke, stop!" She put her hands on his chest, trying her hardest to push him away. He didn't seem to mind her. One of his hands wrapped around her waist, keeping her press closely against his front. His other hand tangled in her long hair, fingertips gently caressing her silky strands. She had to admit that it felt good. It's soothing and comforting and if it wasn't for their grave situation right now, she would have wanted him to continue.

His tongue prodded her lips, asking for an entrance. She didn't grant him at first, but with the way he was gently caressing her hair, she involuntarily let out a mewl and he took that chance to slip his tongue into her mouth. He bit on her bottom lip, got her to mewl a few more times before deciding to stop. He would like to continue this later. This was in no way close to how he usually kissed her.

Her face was on fire. It's hot and red like burning coal. She had always flustered when kissing him, and with Kou witnessing their kiss, she thought she was going to die out of embarrassment. With her Byakugan still on, she could see Kou's face blanched and he looked like he was going to faint. He even stumbled on his feet. And she thought she was going to faint too.

Hinata let out a small squeak when Sasuke suddenly lift her up and she found herself thrown over his shoulder. "Let me go. I can walk." She almost screamed, small fists punching his back.

Sasuke ignored her, letting her do whatever she wanted on his shoulder. He turned slightly toward the direction he knew the team was coming from. A smirk graced his lips and he knew Kou could see it.

With lightning speed, he headed toward the forest.

Kou would let the team know what he had seen.

* * *

Kou stumbled on his feet before coming to a complete stop.

Around him, he could vaguely hear Sakura's worry voice asking why he stopped, Naruto's impatient voice screaming for him to continue, and the buzzing sound of Shino's insects as he patiently waiting for a reaction from him.

Sasuke was too fast. He couldn't see him anymore.

"Why did you stop?" Sakura asked.

"We have to continue." Naruto grabbed his shoulders, shaking him to try to pull him out of his shock. He could see the worry in Naruto's blue eyes because he knew whatever he had seen, it must be very bad to get him this shaken. "What did you see? Tell me? Did he hurt her?"

Kou found it hard to tell them. What he had seen was never supposed to happen.

"They're kissing."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

 **A/N** : I apologize for this late update. I usually update once a month, but life has been hectic for me recently. Besides, this chapter was really hard to write. I can't count how many times I have re-written it. Even now, I'm not entirely satisfied with this chapter, but well, I guess you guys have been waiting enough.

I want to say thank you to you guys for sticking around with me and this story. Your reviews, favorites, and follows mean a lot to me. I really hope you can leave me a review because I love reading them haha.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **9**

 _Hanabi,_

 _I'm sorry that I took so long to write you a letter, but my situation didn't allow me until now. How is everyone doing at home? Are_ _you and Father doing okay? I'm worried for Father. He once complained to me about his back. I've been working on an ointment that can help ease his back pain and I intended to give it to him when I returned from my mission, but you know… It may be months until I can return, so can you look into my drawer and give the ointment to him?_

 _I've noticed you've been taking a lot of missions lately and it worries me. You should take a rest some times because, for a shinobi, resting is just as important as training. I also have prepared some ointment for you and you can find it in my drawer. I've added some flowers to it as you don't like its_ _pungent smell._

 _Is Kiba-kun doing okay? I'm very worried about him. Sasuke ensured me that Kiba-kun was not dead, but I can't stop worrying. After all, the last time I saw Kiba-kun, Sasuke was throwing a kunai at him. When you meet him, can you tell him that I'm sorry? He just tried to save me and it's partly my fault that he ends up in the hospital._

 _Hanabi, I know everyone is thinking that Sasuke has kidnapped me or even killed me already. He did kidnap me, yes, but for a good reason. He needs my help in something important and although I can't tell you what it is, it does not involve betraying the village or gaining Byakugan secret. He also does not force me to go with him or torture me. I follow him on my own and he does not mistreat me. In fact, I think… Naruto-kun is right. Sasuke is a good person, not a monster people portray him to be. If you meet Naruto-kun, please tell him that he is right about Sasuke and he doesn't need to worry too much because I will take good care of him. So please, don't send a team to look for me. I will return when I finish what needed to be done._

 _Love you,_

 _Hinata._

"That's good," Tsunade said, relief washed over her face.

"Good? How could this be good?" Hiashi almost barked at the Hokage, voice lanced with disbelieve.

"That Hinata is still alive and Sasuke doesn't hurt her?" She looked at the letter in her hands, carefully scanning for any signs that could indicate that this letter was forced, and discreetly gave a sigh of relief when she found nothing. She handed the letter back to Haishi who was standing in front of her desk. The man received the letter with one of his hands and put it into his long sleeve.

"The Uchiha must have forced Hinata to write this letter," Hiashi stated.

"There is no clear evidence for your statement."

"I demand another team to be sent out to look for my daughter."

"The current team was capable enough."

"Capable? It's been months and they found nothing."

"Give them some time. Sasuke is not someone who is easy to be tracked."

"That's why we need another team."

"The village is currently short on shinobi and I can't afford to send two teams on the same mission."

"Byakugan secret is in danger."

"It's not, according to Hinata's letter." Tsunade, once again, denied Hiashi's statement. "She writes that Sasuke only needs her help in something and that something does not involve betraying the village or gaining Byakugan secret."

"Something? What's something that he needs my daughter's help? To restore his clan?"

"Hiashi," Tsunade warned, knowing well what he was referring to and truthfully, that's exactly what she had in her mind right now.

"A child with two bloodline limits is too dangerous."

"Or do you want Hinata to tell us that Sasuke was torturing her and trying to gouge her eyes out for Byakugan?" She asked, steering the conversation to another point.

"Sasuke is not someone who can be trusted."

"He helped stop the war."

"That's not a reason to trust him."

"Your daughter trusts him."

"That's what I most concern about."

"Not everyone is skeptical of everything like you."

"I'm just trying to save my daughter."

"And I'm trying to run my village." She raised her voice a little, her right hand clenched tightly on the desk. Her fist is itchy to punch at something, preferably the man before her. Taking a deep breath, she tried her best to stay calm. This was the Hyuuga Leader and she couldn't just punch at his face as she would with her desk or a wall when she was frustrated. This required a tactful approach. "Hiashi, I understand your concerns and believe me when I say I'm worried for Hinata too, but I really can't send another team to look for her, at least not now. The current team consists of only capable shinobi and if they can't find and rescue Hinata, I don't think there is any team can. Please be patient and give Shino and his team some more time."

Hiashi pursed his lips. When Tsunade had talked like that, it meant there was nothing he could say to change her decision, at least not now. He definitely wouldn't let this down. He would return to the Hyuuga Compound and summon a meeting with the elders to come up with a plan.

"Fine," And he left the Hokage Tower, fuming and empty-handed.

Once he returned to the Hyuuga Compound, he ignored the respect bow of the guards at the gate. Instead, he immediately summoned a meeting with the elders. They needed to come up with a plan fast.

Hanabi silently watched her Father from afar. With the way he was fuming and calling for a meeting with the elder, it's more than likely that the Hokage had declined his request to send another team to look for and rescue Hinata. She couldn't say she was surprised though. The village was now short on shinobi and sending two teams on the same mission would be too generous for the Hyuuga Clan.

When the door to the meeting room closed, Hanabi turned and headed to her room. They would not let her attend the meeting despite her being the Heiress. She was too young, they would say. All she wanted right now was for her Father to give Hinata's letter back to her so she could read it again and cradle it in her chest like a treasure it was.

Hanabi couldn't count how many times she had read her sister's letter. She closed her eyes, remembering every word her sister had written. Her sister's letter was what had stopped her from falling to desperation. After weeks of not receiving any information from the rescue team and she thought she was ready to leave the village to look for her sister, a hawk came to her with this letter. She had opened the letter and almost burst into tears when she was met with the familiar neat handwriting of her sister. She had read and re-read it many times to make sure that this was real and not a delusion her mind had created in an attempt to save her from desperation.

She had quickly brought the letter to her Father. Unlike what she had expected, relief didn't wash over his face. Instead, it had been overtaken with a grimace. She didn't get it. Though the letter couldn't erase their worries completely, it at least could have provided some relief as they now knew that her sister was still alive.

Her father had called for a meeting with the elders. From what she had been told, Hinata's letter didn't ease her Father and the elders at all. Instead, it made them even worrier and suspicious of the situation because such a criminal like Sasuke couldn't treat anyone well. He must have forced her to write this letter or deceived her into thinking that he was a good person to gain her trust. They didn't know what his true intentions were, but it definitely couldn't be anything good and it worried her Father and the elders to no end. Byakugan secret was in danger and that was not even the worst scenario. They feared a child with two bloodline limits would be born and it would bring disaster upon the Hyuuga Clan.

The Hokage refused to send another team to look for Hinata made the Hyuuga even angrier. Even without attending the meeting, she could imagine how her Father and the elders were frantic to come up with a plan. She sighed in frustration. They didn't need to request the Hokage for another team as they could have just let her go to look for her sister. She could go alone and didn't need any team.

Hanabi's hand picked up the picture frame on the table, fingers caressing the glass surface lovingly. The picture was taken 4 months before the war. All three of them had been happy. Hinata was smiling her brightest smile. Hanabi's smile was so wide that she could not see her own eyes. It's not easy to see Neji's smile. The only indication that he was smiling was the small upturn of his lips, but she could see the genuine content in his eyes.

She loved Hinata's smile. In a household where almost everyone was stoic and rarely expressed their emotions, Hinata's kind and caring nature was something she had come to depend on. The world could be cruel, could throw her endless challenges and leave her bruised and exhausted, but she knew she could always find peace in Hinata's smile. And that Uchiha bastard was taking her away. If he really needed her sister's help in something, he could have just come and asked her nicely, not kidnapped her like that. He should know Hinata was too kind to refuse to help anyone.

Hanabi rarely cried, but the night she knew her sister had been kidnapped, she had cried her eyes out. Even now, her pale eyes were being pricked with unshed tears, but she refused to cry. She had to be strong for Hinata. Her father could be right about the letter being a deceive and Sasuke had forced Hinata to write it and if it's really what had happened, she would hunt him down to the end of the world, regardless he was one of the most powerful shinobi in the world.

"Please, be okay." She whispered and put a light kiss on the glass surface. "I promise I will find a way, neechan."

* * *

"Why did you do that?" Hinata asked the moment her feet touched the ground, his hands lingering on her waist for a moment before retracting to his sides.

He didn't answer her question. Instead, he leaned against the tree trunk behind with his arms crossed in front of his chest. His face titled toward the sky, dark hair framed his cheek and she found herself staring at him. Again, she was reminded why so many girls liked him. He was good looking and radiated a dark and mysterious aura that made people want to know him, to shred the walls he had built around himself and reveal his true self. She had never had the need to get no know him before, but she did now. In a matter of 2 months, she had learned about him more than the 12 years when he was in the village and he fascinated her. She learned that he loved his brother more than anything, he hated sweet, his hold was warm, his lips were soft, and he can be playful when he wanted to be, though it usually resulted in her blushing madly.

Feeling a blush creeping to her cheeks, Hinata slightly shook her head and tried to push those thoughts away. His good look was just as dangerous as it could make her mind wander to his soft lips, his dark strands tangled in her fingers, his strong chest under her palms, his dark eyes bored into her pale ones, and… She started to panic. Those thoughts refused to leave her mind and it scared her. She had been having a crush on Naruto for years and thoughts like those had never entered her mind. Those thoughts about Naruto were innocent. She dreamt about his bright smile, his kind nature, and his fierce determination to fight for his beliefs, but never about his lips or chest.

She quickly turned her head away, veiling her hot and red face from him behind her long hair. If he knew what she was thinking about, he was going to tease her about it for the rest of their journey. Right, it's only for the rest of their journey because once Orochimaru fixed him, they would probably never see each together again. This somehow managed to dampen her mood and her blush slowly reduced. _I would never see him again._

She turned to him, pale eyes searching for his dark ones. There was something in his eyes, something that she was familiar to but couldn't put a finger on. "You let them saw us kiss." She decided to elaborate as if he didn't know what she was talking about.

His only response was giving her a side look, still not a verbal one.

"What are you planning?" She continued.

"To kiss you." And he meant it. His chakra was depleting fast and he would have to kiss her soon. Pink dusted her cheeks and he found his lips wanted to lift upward to a smirk. It's always amusing to see her blush and fluster.

"Sasuke, I'm not kidding around."

"Neither am I."

"They saw us kiss, what do you think they would think?"

"That I want to restore my clan with you, probably." Actually, that idea didn't sound too bad to him.

"Kou-niichan definitely will inform my Father about this and he will be furious." She said, her shoulders trembled as she could even see it in her head the disappointed and disapproval look on his face when he knew about this and how the elders would question her purity and they could even disown her for it. In the back of her mind, she found it strange that Naruto was not the one she most concerned about, but didn't mention it.

"The better question is, what are we going to do now?" He asked, actually wanted to hear her suggestion.

"How could I explain it to him?" She whispered, ignoring his question. Now all she could think about was her Father. She had tried her hardest for years to please him, to become the daughter he could be proud of, and now this happened and it can potentially ruin everything she had work hard for.

Sasuke was silence for a moment. She made it sound like she had eloped with him, which was totally untrue but seemed correct in people's eyes. Her letter had confirmed she was willing to follow him, he didn't force her and now they had been seen kissing, what else could people assume?

Hisashi was a strict Father, even stricter than Fugaku. Although he didn't know how he would punish his daughter for kissing him, it must be very severe to make her this terrified and he almost pitied her for it. It's only _almost_ because he didn't regret what he had done. Actually, he only wanted Naruto to see he and Hinata kiss, the rest of the team was just in the way. It's a pity that he couldn't stay to see Naruto's reactions. He would love to see his blue eyes widened in shock, his jaw and fists clenched in fury as he thought he had forced her to kiss him while in reality, she had enjoyed it just as much as he had. She might appear to protest him, but he knew she loved it when he kissed her.

"Takao must have told them about us." She said, pulling him out of his thoughts. As he looked at her in question, she elaborated. "I saw his shop's bag in Sakura's backpack."

"That damn boy." He growled angrily. He should have just killed him already.

"No. Do not curse him. You are the one who let them saw us. We could have left but you… I don't know what you're thinking."

 _Neither do I._ He thought inwardly. What he had done was totally on an impulse. He didn't for a second consider the consequence. All he wanted was for Naruto to know that he had kissed her and no one could stop him, even her long-time crush. It sounded like he was trying to prove something to Naruto, but prove what? It's probably nothing because he had nothing to prove. The fact was already obvious. She had been in love with Naruto for a long time and a few months kissing him couldn't change that and anyone who said otherwise would be wrong.

He knew she loved Naruto and that fact had never really bothered him before, until now. The appearance of a lookalike Naruto and now the real Naruto had made him realize how real it was that she loved Naruto, not him. She had loved him since she was little and probably would for the rest of her life. Once she returned to the village, she would continue to pin after Naruto, memories of him and their kiss forever buried in the back of her mind. And if one day Naruto finally reciprocated her feelings… he would hate it if it happened.

It's ridiculous and he almost laughed at himself. It didn't make sense at all. In fact, nothing made sense anymore. How could this girl, who he had never paid much attention before, mess with his head? _This must be an effect of the potion_. This was something he had to tell himself a lot recently and probably would for the rest of their journey. Everything would return to normal once Orochimaru fixed him. He once again would be able to look at her without wanting to kiss her, to tangle his fingers in her long hair, to wrap his arms around her waist protectively, and feeling the warmth spread in his heart.

Looking at her right now, seeing the anxious and troubled look on her face made him want to comfort and ensure her that everything would be alright and he would not let anyone take her away from him. However, he found it hard to say it out loud as he wasn't good at expressing himself through words. She definitely would feel better if she had some cinnamon rolls to munch on, but she had eaten all of her 12 rolls in just one day.

"We just need to get to Orochimaru fast." Was his only reply. He honestly didn't have any plan except for keeping going really fast until reaching the Lighting Country. If the team found them again, they would just run and hide as fast as they could.

She stared at him for a moment, but then slowly nodded her head. He was right. They just need to get to Orochimaru as fast as they could and all of this would end. "W-we should be going." She mumbled and turned away, but his voice stopped her.

"Wait," He stopped her, and when the girl turned to face him with a question in her pale eyes, he almost wanted to sigh. "You forgot to kiss me."

"Oh, r-right." She blushed a little, coming close to him. Once in front of him, she tiptoed, aiming to his lips. She didn't flinch when his arm wrapped around her waist and brought her closer to him. Her lips touched his tentatively, feeling his soft and warm lips against hers. He kissed her back, gently moving his lips with hers. He didn't kiss her as ardently as usual and she found it strange but didn't voice it out loud. She wanted to ask him why, but it would be too embarrassing.

There was something in his kiss that wasn't present before. It's like he wanted her to take the lead and kiss him fully. And she did. She was hesitated at first as she didn't know how to. He had always been the one to control everything. He kissed her like how he wanted to, knowing full well that she enjoyed it too. Now he wanted her to have that control and kiss him like how she wanted. It could be just a peck or a light touch on the lips, all were fine with him.

Her tongue slid into his mouth, slowly and tentatively. Her kiss was light, gentle, and was satisfying enough with some bite and lick here and there. Her fingers tangled in his hair, gently caressing his dark strands and keeping his head down to her. Even when tiptoeing, he was still too tall for her petite frame.

He liked her kiss. When he kissed her, his heart bit fast, his body heated and everything felt like a blur because despite how much he kissed her, it was not enough. When she kissed him, his heart was warm, his body relaxed and everything felt at peace. He was at peace.

The kiss ended when his chakra had fully recovered. Her lips left his, slowly and almost reluctantly. Instead of leaving him immediately after kissing him as she always did because she was too shy, this time she stayed in his arms. There was something in his dark eyes that she wanted to have a closer look at. It's something similar but she couldn't quite put a finger on it.

And then she remembered it. Hanabi had once commented on how she used to have an insecure and neglect look in her eyes whenever she looked at Naruto and Sakura. She didn't anymore though. She had come to a conclusion that she had moved on from her childhood crush because there was no other explanation as to why she didn't constantly think of him anymore, her eyes didn't immediately focus on him, and her heart didn't beat fast when she thought of him. Instead, all of those things would happen if it was Sasuke.

What she didn't understand was why he was having that look. He had nothing to be insecure about. Sakura loved him, Naruto cared about him, and he was handsome and powerful.

Her hand slid from his hair to his face, delicate fingers gently caressing his cheek. His skin is smooth and soft and she wondered if he would let her plant a peck on it. "What's wrong?" She asked in a soft voice.

 _Everything._

"Nothing." He replied, tilting his head a little to lean into her hand. He noticed the pink stains appearing on her cheeks and it somehow satisfied him, knowing that just a small move from him could make her fluster.

"Sasuke," She started, but then paused a little to bite her lips nervously. He wondered if she was too shy or just unsure if she should say it or not, probably both. "I just want you to know that until Orochimaru fixes you, I will never leave you."

Until Orochimaru fixed him? So every kiss the shared, every night they slept together, chasing the nightmares away, how he had told him about his brother, how he had thought she reminded him of his mother, all of these were mistakes that needed to be fixed?

He pursed his lips into a thin line, face expression hardened in distaste. Right, this was a mistake. His hand rose to grasp hers, the soft and warm skin of her hand gave him an urge to intertwine their fingers together, but he held it back. If this was a mistake, he shouldn't continue it. Instead, he removed her hand from his cheek, letting it fall to her side.

"We should be going." He said, walking away without waiting for her response.

"Something is bothering you." She said, quickly catching up to him.

"I'm fine." He dined.

"I have been around stoic men for my entire life and I think I'm quite perceiving when it comes to them. My Father and Neji-niisan said they're fine even when they're not."

"They just didn't want to bother you with their problems."

"It might be true." She nodded her head in agreement. "But it also might be because of their pride."

"Are you referring to me?" He asked, giving her a sideways look.

She noticed his look and promptly took a few steps forward to block his way.

"My Father and Neji-niisan hated to share their problems with other people. It might be because they didn't want to bother people or their pride didn't let them, but I have always wished that someday, they wouldn't mind sharing their problems with me. I'm their daughter and cousin after all. They eventually did and it made me very happy. It meant that they trusted me enough to show me their vulnerability. And I'm hoping for the same thing with you. I wouldn't force you to tell me what is bothering you. I'm not even sure if I would be able to help you, but I would never judge you. I'm not a good talker, but I think I'm a good listener."

She exhaled once she finished, inwardly complimenting herself for not stutter, considering that this was one of the most she had ever said in one setting. She waited for his response, half expecting him to scoff at her. They used to know nearly nothing about each other and she wasn't even sure if he considered her as a friend, so what she was hoping for might be too much. But, she told herself, she had to try, just like how she had tried to make Neji open up to her. Sasuke might not care what she wanted or hoped for, but at least he now knew that she was always ready to listen to him and never judge him.

A minute pass and when the only response he gave her was his silence, she felt an urge to fidget. She quickly forced her fingers apart by gripping the hem of her jacket, but she could do nothing to stop the blush staining her cheeks.

His mouth opened and then closed. No sound came out as he only stared at her. This girl, once again, astounded him. She was nothing like anyone he had ever met. Naruto and Sakura always wanted to solve his problems for him regardless of whether he wanted them to or not. They thought what's best for him, not what he wanted, and though he had come to appreciate that, that didn't mean he like it. But this girl, as long as he didn't betray the village or hurt people, she would let him do whatever he wanted. He used to think it's because she was too busy to pin after Naruto to actually care about him, but she had proven him wrong. She did care, she just respected him enough to not pressure him to tell her what was bothering him.

"You are really something." It's the only reply he could give her. He watched with amusement as her pale eyes lit up. She must have expected a negative reaction from him.

"Is that a compliment?"

"Hn."

"Is it yes or no?"

"Can you guess?"

"I don't know."

"I won't tell you."

"It's kind of childish, you know?" She mumbled, pink stains persisting on her cheeks and his hands were itching to caresses them.

"I'm childish?" He asked, gradually giving in what he wanted. They didn't have much time together after all. It's okay if this was a mistake because it wouldn't last forever.

His right hand cradled the back of her neck, fingers tangling in her long hair as he pulled her toward him. Her small squeak was muffled with her face burying in his chest. His breath was warm when he whispered in her ears. "If you think I'm childish, how about I show you how I do the adult thing?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

 **A/N** : I'm glad you guys like the last chapter and thank you so much for continuing to support me. Every review, favorite and follow means a lot to me.

Again, because English isn't my first language, gramma errors are inevitable so if you find any, please tell me in the comment section or you can send me a message. I'll correct it immediately.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **10**

"How about I show you how I do the adult thing?"

"U-Um… Okay, if you want." She said bashfully.

Sasuke was dumbfounded. He stared at her, at a loss for words. He had expected her to blush furiously, to scold him for daring to offer such an impertinent thing, or even to faint from embarrassment, and definitely never accept his offer. Maybe he had rubbed off on her too much. _No_ , he slightly shook his head. This was Hinata and she likely had no idea what he was talking about. "Do you know what I'm talking about?"

"You want to show me your clan's most difficult technique." She replied, her pale eyes blinking and head tilting slightly to the side.

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Hyuugas are only considered adults when they can perform the clan's most difficult technique. I guess it's the same for your clan. Neji-niisan was considered an adult when he was only 14." She explained, extremely proud to mention one of her prodigy cousin's accomplishments to him.

"I'm talking about sex."

Her pale eyes widened as horror and embarrassment filled her. Red started to spread over her face and it took all of her willpower to not faint. If sex was what he was having in mind right now, she definitely wouldn't want to faint. "S-s-sex?" She stuttered, just starting to realize how close they were now. He had one hand in her long hair, the other hand wrap securely around her waist and she was practically pressing against him. She quickly wiggled out of his arms and thankfully, he let her. "Why would you want to talk about s-sex?"

"God, Hinata! How old are you?" He willed himself not to facepalm. This girl's innocence was really on a different level.

When she continued to stare at him in confusion, dumbfounded, he knew she couldn't be helped. But maybe he should have expected nothing less from her. She was the first daughter of the Hyuuga leader, a lady of high class. She had lived a very sheltered life and had no idea how lecherous men could be. The elders had probably drilled into her head that no man, except her husband, was allowed to touch her. It could be Naruto or a wealthy daimyo and somehow the idea of a man, even if it was her future husband, touching her displeased him greatly.

He discreetly sighed. Things were becoming more and more confusing and he had decided that it's not worth trying to make sense of everything because he couldn't. He would just let it happen on its own. Right now he was content with having her by his side and it's all that mattered.

Hinata took a few steps back. She looked at him with a confused, dumbfounded, and even a little frightened expression on her face and he wondered how she could express so many emotions, especially when she was from Hyuuga clan, whose stoicism could rival his own clan. But after all, she was not like most Hyuuga, just like how she was different from all women he had met.

Her hand rose, crossing in front of her chest in a feeble attempt to cover it, face on fire as she exclaimed. "I'm not having sex with you."

Sasuke found her fluster amusing and endearing. His pursed lips twitched as he tried not to laugh at her silly exclamation. He actually pitied her because when he found something amusing, he would like to prolong it. "Remember when you said _fuck you_ to me? I can consider it as an invitation."[*]

"I-I… It's n-not an i-in…" Words jumbled in her mouth. She was so flustered that her stutter came back tenfold worse than before.

"Oh, and you even groped me. It's quite a turn on." [**]

Hinata started to feel light-headed, her vision became blurry. She willed herself not to faint but it was becoming harder and harder with each word he said and she just wanted to dig a hole for herself. This man loved teasing her and had no qualms about it. She knew he could be playful when he wanted to be but she had no idea what triggered it. He just out of nowhere teased her and then left her flustered and blushed madly with a smug smirk on his lips.

Her vision suddenly shifted upward the sky as she vaguely realized she was fainting again. She prepared herself for a nasty fall and then darkness would engulf her but none of them came. Instead of the hard cold ground, she found herself embraced in one of his arms, steadying her limp frame.

"Don't faint." She heard him mumble. Her mouth opened to tell him that his request was incredulous. If he didn't want her to faint, then do not tease her. However, she then decided not to say it as anything coming out of her mouth right now would likely be a terrible stutter.

"Calm down. Breath." His voice was strangely soothing, coaxing her into doing what he said and she found herself doing so obediently.

It seemed the faint spells had decided to let her go this time. She began to breath more easily, face cooling down and her blush subsided. It took a few minutes but finally, she could get some words out. "Is it you let them saw us kiss because you wanted to tease me?" She asked, inwardly complimenting herself for not stuttering. It was something she could be immensely proud of.

Silence ensued and when he only gave her a look, she wondered if she had somehow offended him. With the way his lips pursed into a thin line and a frown crossed his brows, it seemed her guess was completely wrong.

"No." His one-word reply only made her more curious. Although she didn't want to annoy him with questions as she knew he didn't like it, this matter did concern her so she believed she had the right to know.

"Then why? Why did you do that?" She could see the hesitation and uncertainty in his dark eyes and couldn't but be taken aback a little. The Sasuke she knew was always sure of himself, he knew what he was doing and be firm about it but today, she learned that it wasn't everything about him. He could hesitate, could have doubts and could even feel neglected just like everyone else. She used to found growing up with stoic men difficult and challenging but now she was thankful for it. It gave her the ability to recognize and identify the subtle emotions he displayed, which solidified her belief that he was a human being, not the monster people said he was and he had _emotions_.

"It's an effect of the potion." The explanation sounded convincing as he said it with a straight face, any doubts and uncertainties he was having kept out his voice in an attempt to prevent her from asking any more questions, which he had no answers for.

He could tell his answer didn't satisfy her as confusion fluttered across her face but thankfully, she didn't press him more on the matter. She was true to her words to not pester him with questions, even when she had every right to as his action did affect her. Sometimes he pitied her for her inability to put herself before others.

It's not that he didn't want to give her a better answer, he just didn't have one. His actions recently had become inexplicable even to him, which had never happened before. He prayed the answer he gave her was the right one because it meant all of this was fixable once they got to Orochimaru. But a part of him, the part that was growing steadily at first but now so fast that he couldn't ignore, wanted to keep some of this out of the potion's effect. Peaceful nights sleeping with her, having her blush and fluster at the slightest touch of their lips, and simply having by her his side were just three of them. He might as well add some more to the list as their journey continued.

Her pale eyes slid from his face to the ground. Pink stained her cheeks as she bit her bottom lip nervously, all accusing her of wanting to say something which might be very embarrassing. He waited patiently because watching her fluster was amusing in itself.

"We're still not having s-sex." She mumbled as if to remind him.

"We'll see about that." His reply came rather quickly. He watched in amusement as her pale eyes widened in horror, mouth opening for what he assumed a shriek but only silence reigned.

She fainted.

Sasuke could only sigh. He crouched a little, put an arm under her shoulder, the other under her knees. She felt light and warm as he carried her in his arms towards the tree. As he sat down at the trunk with her cradled comfortably his lap, head resting against his chest, he couldn't help but think that their plan to get to Orochimaru as soon as possible wouldn't go well.

* * *

The shock of witnessing Sasuke kiss Hinata had yet waned off, another one came with Hiashi's letter. The Hyuuga Leader expressed his disappointment in his inability to find and rescue his daughter and how he started to question if choosing him for this mission was the right decision. He urged him to do everything he could to complete his mission because, as Hiashi wrote, things were getting out of control. This was what Kou dreaded most. Hiashi had summarized his daughter's letter in just one sentence and this was where Kou's anxiety level skyrocketed.

 _Hinata wrote that she is willing to follow Sasuke to help him with something, he doesn't force her, and she even thinks he is a good person._

The rest of the letter was just like what he expected. The Hokage's refusal to send another team had enraged the elders greatly and they were frantic to come up with a plan. There was even a chance that they would send their own rescue team if they deemed the current team was unable to complete the mission. Besides the chance of Byakugan's secret being revealed, they feared that Sasuke would force himself on Hinata or seduce her and a child with two bloodline limits would be born. The Hyuuga valued their pure blood more than anything and a hybrid with the Uchiha was unacceptable.

"Your friend is a bastard." Kou bit out and Naruto didn't need to ask to know who his insult was directed to.

"You don't know anything about him." Naruto's retort came rather quickly.

"Hinata-sama wrote a letter to Hiashi-sama stating that she was willing to follow Sasuke and he doesn't force her. It's not a kidnapping anymore."

Shock was written clearly on Naruto and Sakura's faces and while he couldn't see Shino's expression, he knew he was just as shocked as them. The buzz of his insects was the clearest evidence of his shock and even frustration.

"I suppose the letter on your hand is Hiashi-sama's," Sakura said.

"I doubt the reliability of Hinata's letter. Sasuke might have forced her to write it." Shino said.

"No. I've seen it with my own eyes," Kou said, once again remembering what he had seen while trying to make sense of the situation. "Hinata-sama was not injured, she was not trapped in a genjutsu, and she didn't even try to escape. She could have used gentle fists, just one touch from her could render him paralyzed, but she did none of those. All she did was thrashing on his shoulder like…"

"... like she wanted him to release her so she could run away with him on her own." Naruto finished for him. The atmosphere was tense with this discovery. If this was not a kidnapping, what's the point of this team? Hinata was an adult, as long as she didn't defect or betray the village, no one could tell her where to go or who to follow. Well, the Hyuuga elders could, but not them.

"There must be a reason," Sakura said, still trying to defend her old teammate.

"And what reason it is? To restore his clan with her?

"No way… They barely know each other."

"Even if Sasuke wants to restore his clan with Hinata, that doesn't explain why she is willing to follow him. We all know she loves Naruto." Shino said and all eyes fell onto the blonde boy, expecting him to say something and when he only gave them silence, Kou decided to drop the bombshell.

"Then why did they kiss?" They had avoided talking about it, mainly because the news was so shocking that it rendered them speechless. And that's not even everything he had seen. "He let me see them kiss."

"What?" The three members' jaws almost dropped. They thought that he saw what he saw simply because of his Byakugan, not because Sasuke let him saw it.

"He began to kiss Hinata-sama the moment I could saw them and it's not a coincidence. Hinata-sama's Byakugan was activating and her range was much larger than mine. She could see me long before I could see her and must have warned him about us. He knew I could see them."

"You mean Hinata wanted us to see them kiss too?" Sakura asked, her lips were quivering as if she wanted nothing more than to deny it all.

"I don't think so. She seemed surprised and even tried to stop him."

"She just wanted to leave but he didn't let her and he kissed her just for us to see," Shino concluded.

"She even wrote that she thinks he's a good person." Kou continued as if what he had revealed wasn't shocking enough.

"Is it bad that she thinks he is a good person?" Naruto asked, but it sounded like he was challenging Kou.

"It is," Kou replied, challenging him to say otherwise. "Kiba confirmed that it _was_ a kidnapping. Hinata-sama had tried to escape, vigorously even, which meant something must have happened between them that made her change her mind and decide to follow him willingly."

"Stop making him look like a bad person." Sakura couldn't contain her annoyance. She, just like Naruto, despite what people said, always believed that their teammate wasn't a horrible person. Sasuke might not be the nicest person, but he would never hurt anyone without a good reason. "If she thinks Sasuke-kun is a good person, it means he has treated her well enough to gain her trust."

"You said it yourself they barely knew each other. Why being nice to her while he has tried to kill you and Naruto several times?"

"Did Hinata reveal why she decides to follow Sasuke?" Shino asked in a calm voice. It seemed he was the only person here who could maintain his cool.

"He needs her help with something," Kou replied.

"That's must be it. He's nice to her because he needs her help, so stop degrading him."

"What is it he needs her help in that involves kissing?"

"You sound like you don't want him to treat her well."

"Why did he want us to know that they kissed?"

"I don't know, but…"

"I can't think of any plausible reason for him to kiss her and show it to us."

"I'll ask him myself when we find them," Naruto said, his voice was hoarse and gruff like a growl and if it was 2 years ago, they would have feared that the Nine-Tailed was trying to take over his body.

As if to indicate the discussion was over, Naruto turned and left.

"Naruto, wait!" Sakura called, quickly following him.

He heard her but decided not to reply. He knew she would follow him anyway and that's exactly what he needed. There were things they needed to discuss as members of team 7, not of the rescue team.

Once Sakura and Naruto's figures disappeared behind the tall and massive trees, Shino slowly turned to Kou, silently gauging his expression. "You didn't mean it, did you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

Silence ensued for a few moments before Kou gave a sigh and proceeded to sat on a log. One hand was shoved into his hair in frustration as he contemplated what to say. He wasn't usually like this. No Hyuugas were supposed to behave like this, all impetuous and ill-mannered but he guessed witnessing Sasuke and Hinata kiss and learning that she was willing to follow him was too much to bear.

"I'm thankful." He murmured as Shino sat down next to him. Shino must be the only person in this team that had his complete trust to give it his all to find and rescue Hinata. He knew Naruto and Sakura were trying their best to complete the mission too, but he had a vague feeling that their real mission was never Hinata but Sasuke. After all, their bias toward their old teammate was quite strong.

"I'm too," Shino replied. There were no more words needed to be spoken for them to know what the other was meaning. When they were informed of Hinata's kidnapping, they had expected the worst, so seeing her alive, healthy, and perhaps even safe was a much-needed relief.

"Naruto asked me if it's bad that Hinata-sama thinks the Uchiha is a good person…" Kou began after a few minutes of silence for them to gather their thoughts. "Hinata-sama is too nice. She believes in the good in people and that sometimes can hurt her."

"She must be very happy to find out that Sasuke is a good person, not the monster people say he is."

"That is if Sasuke really is a good person like she thinks he is." Kou's voice lowered as he went to the part where he was most afraid of. "If he is not and all the kindness he showed her is just a fraud, a dirty way to gain her trust and take advantage of her, she will be devastated."

"Sasuke is not that kind of person."

"Not you too, Shino." Kou sighed and then gave him a look to promote him so say more. He would like to hear from a third party with an unbiased view.

"I don't know much about Sasuke but from what I hear, he is not the kind of person who pretends to be something they are not just for personal gains."

"I hope you're right."

"You should apologize to Naruto and Sakura."

"I will, when they return."

Neither said anything for the next few minutes, the crackling of the fire and the chirpings of the crickets were the only sounds accompanying them. Kou's pale eyes watched the tall trees that Naruto and Sakura had disappeared into, expecting to see them return, but saw nothing. Whatever they were discussing probably would take a while, which he could understand. Sasuke was someone they could go to hell and back for, just like he would for Hinata.

"I know I should have said it a long time ago but…" Kou said, turning his gaze from the massive trees to the man next to him. He hoped Shino could see the gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you for always being there for Hinata-sama."

"That's what teammates do."

"I know us Hyuugas sometimes didn't even treat her like family, especially the elders in the past, and I'm just a low branch member, there is not much that I can do for her, so I'm very thankful knowing that there are people out there that consider her as their own family and even willing to risk their lives of her."

"You don't give yourself enough credit," Shino said. "We support Hinata as her team but inside the Hyuuga walls, we could do nearly nothing, so thank you for always taking care of her when we can't."

"I guess she just has that ability to make people want to protect her," Kou said, thinking of a certain overprotective cousin. He could in his head imagine Neji in his place, out of his mind with worry.

"Indeed," Shino replied and for the first time since the mission began, they let a small smile grace their lips.

Sakura stopped once she found him. Naruto sat on a log, elbows resting on his knees. His blue eyes were looking upward. The sky was clear, giving him the perfect view of the moon. It reminded him of her eyes, pale but shiny. He thought Hinata was like the moon herself, quiet, tranquil, shy, and easily hidden behind the clouds but the beauty was undeniable.

The log shifted a little as Sakura sat down next to him. Instead of looking at the moon like he was, her green eyes focused on him. "Are you okay?"

"I should be the one asking that question. Are you okay?" His eyes shifted from the moon to bore into her green ones, as if to warn her not to lie to him. She didn't intend to anyway.

"No, I'm not okay." One of her friends was kidnapped and the kidnapper was her old teammate and now they were seen kissing each other, how could she be okay? "What I said earlier…"

"… is not true." He finished for her and before she could say anything, he continued. "Sasuke doesn't show his kindness just because he needs help."

Sakura could only nod her head because every word he said was undeniable. If Sasuke showed his kindness, it's because he wanted to, not because he needed to. Besides, he didn't need to show Hinata his kindness for her to help him. Hinata was the kind of person who could never say no to anyone, especially when they needed her help. And what did he need her help in that involved kissing? Sakura couldn't think of a single thing. Except, he didn't need to kiss her, he just wanted to.

Sakura had once felt she had to compete with every single female in the village for Sasuke's attention, except Hinata. The crush the girl had on Naruto was so huge that she could comment on how cool Sasuke was, which she never did, and she wouldn't even felt threatened, but not anymore. Her dream of being her long-time crush's second kiss could never come true and she guessed the same went for Hinata's dream of her first kiss to be Naruto.

"If you don't hurry up, Sasuke-kun may come and sweep her off her feet." She said, intending it to be a joke but it came out rather bitter.

"Eh? So you know?" He scratched his head awkwardly, a faint blush coming to his cheeks.

"Of course I know. If you don't want the whole village to know you're purchasing flowers for her that symbolizes admiration, pride, and beauty, you shouldn't ask Ino. You know she loves to gossip." Sakura said, quoting every word in Naruto's order that Ino had told her.

"I never intend to hide it anyway."

"Well, the whole village knows, expect Hinata. She's out on a mission and now she's with Sasuke."

"I guess it's karma coming back and biting me in the ass." He laughed a little and although it's not one of his joyful ones, it still warmed her heart knowing that the old Naruto was still there and never left.

"It's never too late for you and her."

"How could you know? Maybe Sasuke has already swept her off her feet."

"You can always ask her out when she returns. She has loved you since she was little." Her tone was encouraging, not allowing him to give up on his newfound love interest. That's what friend did, supporting each other not only on battlefields but also in life.

"Sakura-chan, they kissed."

His words stopped her all at once. Her mouth opened for a retort but only silence reigned. Something like hurt fluttered across her face and because she didn't want him to see it, she quickly lowered her head, letting pink strands veil her face from his view. Naruto, despite popular belief, was not bad at recognizing facial expression at all, especially when it came to her, who had been his close friend for years.

It was not a pleasant feeling at all. Learning that the man she had loved for years had kissed another woman and even showed it to people had left her with a combination of shock, confusion, and hurt, and together they buzzed in her chest. The more she tried to suppress them, the more they consumed her and filled her with doubt and questions. What started as a kidnapping had become something so complicated, though she told herself that she should have expected it as nothing was simple when it came to Sasuke.

The kidnapping was not a kidnapping anymore, the victim defended the kidnapper, and the kidnapper kissed the victim. How could they rescue Hinata when she didn't even want to be rescued?

If a kiss was what he let them see, she dreaded what he didn't.

"Sakura-chan, I'm sorry. I just…" Naruto began, rushing to comfort her.

"No, Naruto." She held a hand, immediately silencing him. As she turned her face, pink hair moving a little to reveal a soft smile. It wasn't real, he knew.

"I'm okay." Her smile quickly faded as her lips set in determination. "Let's try our best to find them."

Just like many years ago, he grinned and held a thumb up.

 _And please, don't lose to him._

* * *

[*] This refers to a scene in chapter 8

[**] This refers to a scene in chapter 5

Before you guys leave, I want to recommend 2 stories that I really like. They are super good and I think you guys should check it out.

A Deal With The Devil by PenCraft31.13

The Priestess by neverkarma

Man, I can't express how much I love these two stories. I wouldn't say anything because I don't want to spoil the stories but trust me, give it a try you wouldn't regret.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

 **A/N** : A quick update before 2019 ends.

 **Warning:** This chapter contains **Mature Content**. You've been warned.

* * *

 **11**

It was raining.

The house was quiet, except for the pitter-patter of the raindrops against the window. The man poured over his book, eyes squinting as his sight had deteriorated with his old age. He had trouble sleeping and reading a book before bed had become a way to help him sleep better. As he squinted, fingers tracing the line to keep track of what he was reading, he couldn't help but missing his youthful days when he could read and fall asleep fast.

Fortunately, his hearing was still good and therefore, he could hear among the rain was footsteps. They hurried, probably looking for a place to stay until the rain stopped, and there was no other place in this area except his house. The footsteps were getting closer and soon, there was a sharp knock on his door.

The old man hesitated, not sure if he should welcome them. They were strangers and in this area where bandits and criminals wandered, he wouldn't want to risk housing the outlaws, especially when he had someone to keep safe.

The knocking on his door persisted and finally, he got up, deciding that he got no other choice. The door was not that solid, he was too old to make a new door himself and if they wanted, they could easily break it. He better opened it himself to save him his door. As his wrinkled hands reached for the door and opened it, he had expected to see rugged faces marred with scars, not a heart-shaped one with pearly eyes looking at him. He could almost sigh in relief if the person next to her didn't have such a dark aura. He seemed very irritated, which was understandable because both of them were drenched from head to toes.

"I'm sorry for intruding but can you let us stay until the rain stops?" Her voice was naturally soft, now got drowned out by the rain as it got heavier and Sasuke wondered if the old man could hear her. He would like to help her, activating his Sharingan and the old man would let them in without any questions but the girl insisted on him not doing that because like she said, it would not be nice and it's not how to ask for help. He had suddenly felt like a child being scolded by his mother but in the end, he didn't oppose her.

Seeing the hesitation on the old man's face, especially when he glanced at the man next to her, she quickly added. "W-We have money. Please, we have nowhere to stay. Once the rain stops, we will leave immediately."

The hesitation remained on his face but finally, he opened the door wider to let the two strangers in.

"Thank you," The girl said, gratitude evident on her face while the man's next to her remained indifferent. "We're very grateful."

"You're welcome." The old man said customarily. Motioning towards the hallway, he continued. "You can find a spare room at the end of the hallway."

"Who's that?" A timid voice asked as a little boy about 6-7 years old emerged, small hand rubbing his eye tiredly.

"You're supposed to be asleep." The old man quickly walked to the boy, likely to take him back to his room but he tugged his hand, seeming to want to stay.

"I h-heard the noise." He explained, hazel eyes staring at the two strangers.

There was curiosity written on his young face and noticing this, Hinata realized they hadn't introduced themselves. "I'm sorry I forgot to introduce ourselves. I'm Hinata and he's Sasuke. We're travelers."

"I'm Hajime and this is my grandson Daisuke." The old man said as his grandchild continued to stare at them with curiosity and even a little guard.

A soft smile graced her lips as this boy somehow reminded her of a certain someone standing next to her. Walking toward the boy, she crouched in front of him and wordlessly, her right hand glowed with green light as it hovered over the boy's knee. The bruise on his knee started to fade, much to the boy and his grandfather's astonishment.

"What happened to your knee?" She asked as the green light continued to heal his knee.

"I tripped yesterday." He mumbled, cheeks starting to get pink. He was shy, she noticed.

It didn't take long for the bruise to fade completely and once it did, he tentatively touched it with his small fingers and his mouth opened for a gasp. "I-It doesn't h-hurt anymore."

"You should be careful next time." Despite wanting to pat his head, she decided not to as her wet hand would have ruined his smooth hair.

"I w-will. T-Thank you, Hinata-san." His smile was bright as his small hands grabbed her and started to tug her toward the hallway. "Let me l-lead you to your room."

"You can also find some clothes in the closet that you can change into, that is, if you don't mind wearing clothes of an old man." The old man said, patting his grandson's head. Daisuke was usually very shy around strangers but this girl had managed to gain his trust in just a few minutes. He couldn't blame him though. She seemed very kind, friendly and she even healed his knee.

"Oh no, not at all." She quickly said. "We don't mind at all."

"You can hang your old clothes near the fireplace so it can dry."

She nodded her head and before she could say anything more, the boy tugged her harder, pulling her towards to hallway. Turning her head to make sure Sasuke was following them, she noticed a scowl forming on his face.

"We're here." The boy happily said and even opened the door for her.

"Thank you, Daisuke. But it's late now and you should go to sleep."

"T-Then… Good night Hinata-san." His hazel eyes shifted to the man next to her, feeling intimidated. Gathering all of his courage, he whispered. "… a-and Sasuke-san too." And he quickly left for his room, as if afraid that he would enrage him.

Once he disappeared behind the door, she turned to Sasuke. "He's scared of you."

"Hn." His curt reply clearly didn't satisfy her but before she could say anything, he handed her the clothes that he found in the closet. "Go change, or you will catch a cold."

She bit her lips, seeming to want to say something but held it back. Instead, she nodded, heading to the bathroom. Once the door closed behind her, he let out a sigh and started to undress.

Things were getting more complicated for him. Earlier it had displeased him when all of her attention was on the old man and his grandson. She didn't even spare him a glance for the entire time. Only when the boy started to pull her to the room did she remembered he was there too. If a kid was enough to distract her from him, no wonder she never showed any interest in him before. He knew she didn't mean to ignore him, he just got used to her attention always focusing on him that when it didn't, it displeased him.

Sasuke guessed that had to change sooner or later though. She couldn't be with him forever. They couldn't be together forever.

He sat on the bed, waiting for her to come out. It shouldn't take her long to change. He waited patiently but when 15 minutes passed without any sign of her coming out, he decided something was wrong. Feeling a little anxious, he knocked on the door. "Hinata, you're taking too long. Come out."

There was only silence and when he felt he was ready to break the door, her soft voice came. "I c-can't."

"What's wrong?"

"I-I'm sorry. It's just… I…"

"Just come out."

"N-No. I…"

"Either you come out or I'll break the door."

"F-Fine. Just give me a moment."

She seemed to take his threat to break the door very seriously as he didn't have to wait long before the door started to creak open and he soon understood why she didn't want to come out.

The shirt didn't fit her. It was stretched to its full limit, emphasizing her full breast. She arranged her hair so it hung over her shoulders in a futile attempt to hide her breasts, head lowering because she was too embarrassed to even look at him in the eyes. Her shoulders trembled slightly as if she wanted nothing more than burst into tears. This was so embarrassing.

Of course, how could he forget that those clothes were of an old man? He found himself staring at them, feeling his body heat up. Her lovely face and innocent mind didn't match her attractive body at all. It took him a whole minute until he could find his voice. "It's… fine."

His words didn't ease her at all. Red persisted on her face as she kept refusing to look at him. He could feel her embarrassment, vulnerability, and even fear. Their conversation a few weeks ago only made it worse for her. She was probably having some not so good ideas about him and it displeased him a lot. He was not that kind of man. He didn't even think about women until he met her.

"I won't do anything to you." He said, assuring her of his gentlemanliness.

"I..." She mumbled, mustering all of her courage to look up at him and when she did, a gasp escaped her mouth. "W-Why are you shirtless?"

"The shirt doesn't fit me." He explained.

"I think I should sleep with Daisuke instead." She exclaimed, her face if possible was even redder.

His brows drew together in a scowl. "I said I won't do anything to you."

"I just… I don't think it's a good idea for us to sleep together while we're like t-this."

"Do I look like I'm going to force myself on you?"

"No… b-but it would be very i-inappropriate if w-we…"

"You just met him."

"Sasuke, he's just a kid."

"Fine." Lips pursing into a thin line, he walked away towards the bed. He didn't spare her a glance as he arranged the pillow and cover. "Go sleep with him."

"Sasuke, why you…" As he turned his back to her, she knew he wouldn't listen. He was acting strange and she had long ago given up on trying to make sense of his actions. She wondered if this was the potion's effect again, making him act like a child sulking. If it's not for her embarrassing situation, she would have found it adorable.

She didn't notice his dark eyes following her as she left the room.

Daisuke's room was right next to hers. Although she hated to wake him up, it's necessary to ask if he would agree to sleep with her. She wouldn't want him to wake up with a stranger in his bed and start to freak out, though he seemed to like her a lot.

"Daisuke," She called, gently touching his shoulder and caressing his hair.

"Hmm? Hinata-san?" He mumbled, hand rubbing his eyes. "Why are you still up?"

"I'm sorry for waking you up but can I sleep with you? Sasuke and I are having some problems so we can't sleep together."

His hazel eyes immediately lit up and he scrambled to make room for her. "Y-Yes. You can s-sleep with me."

"Thank you," She said as she settled in the bed. The boy happily snuggled into her and with a smile on his face, he quickly fell asleep again.

Hinata didn't sleep right away but took a moment to look at the boy. She was naturally good with kids. Having a little sister and having to take care of her since she was a little baby had prepared for her a lot. She knew how to deal with kids, when to be gentle and when needed to be firm. Her childhood was not a happy one, she had to train until she was exhausted and still was told that she wasn't good enough, so she always tried her best to make every kid she met have a better childhood than hers.

This boy was shy but kind and genuine. He would make a good man when he grew up. She sometimes wondered if she ever had her own kids, what she or he would look like. She used to wish they would have blond hair and blue eyes, with whiskers on their faces and a very bright smile but now, she didn't anymore. A kid with dark eyes and dark hair would be nice… _Wait, what?_ She almost gasped out loud at the thought. Face on fire, she immediately scolded herself for daring to think of such a ridiculous thing. There could never be anything between her and Sasuke. But why did the father have to be Sasuke? He wasn't the only man in the world with dark hair and dark eyes.

 _This must be an effect of the potion._ She chanted in her head, willing herself to calm down. It had to because if it's not, she would only be hurt again. One time with Naruto was enough and she didn't think her heart could ever heal if she loved again only to be rejected.

Her eyelids began to feel heavy and she couldn't welcome it more. Traveling all day in the rain had exhausted her so sleep was what she needed the most right now. But before sleep could consume her, something touched her. Startled, she opened her eyes, finding herself cradled in Sasuke's arms as he lifted her out of the bed. As if expecting her to struggle against him, his hold instinctively got tighter.

"Sasuke? What are you doing?" She gasped but quickly put a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound in fear of waking Daisuke up.

"I'm not shirtless anymore, am I?"

He didn't lie when he said the shirt didn't fit him. It clung to his body like a second skin, highlighting his lean body and also restraining every of his movement. It must be very uncomfortable for him to wear it.

"No." Daisuke's sudden voice startled both of them. His tiny hands latched on Sasuke's shirt to desperately stop him from taking another step. His lips quivered as if he was about to burst into tears. "I want to sleep with Hinata-san."

"Go back to sleep, kid," Sasuke ordered but the grip on his shirt only got tighter.

"No one slept with me since mother passed away. Grandpa said I have to be a big boy and sleep alone b-but I really miss her. Hinata-san was kind and gentle like her and I-I…"

Her heart tightened at the sight. She saw herself in him, despaired and hopeless after her mother's death. She remembered crying her eyes out every night, clamping a hand over her mouth to muffle her sobbing because the Hyuuga clan deemed crying a display of weakness and weakness was unacceptable. She didn't even have time to grieve her mother properly. Her sister had been just a baby that needed constant care, the elders had started to doubt her ability to become the heiress, which resulted in intensive training that always left her exhausted at the end of the day.

She missed her mother terribly. Her death had left a void in her heart and soul that kept aching until this day. Now all she wanted was to comfort him, giving him the consolation that she wished someone had given her when her mother passed away.

Her hand tugged lightly at Sasuke's shirt, getting his attention. Once his gaze fell on her, she gave him one of her pleading looks that always made Neji give in to her wishes. "Maybe we all can sleep together?"

A _No_ was on his tongue, ready to spat out but just one look at her and it immediately fell into his throat and stuck there.

"Y-Yes. I d-don't mind sleeping with Sasuke-san, as long as Hinata-san sleeps with me." Daisuke exclaimed happily.

Sasuke was defeated. All he could do was put her on one side of the bed and then move to the other side. This girl somehow had become the death of his.

They settled comfortably in the bed and Daisuke quickly snuggled into Hinata again, mumbling a goodnight for the second time in the night. She gently caressed his hair, a content smile gracing at her lips. She was happy to make people happy.

"He's adorable, isn't he?" She asked, carefully using a soft voice to not wake him up again. Her pale eyes didn't leave the boy and therefore, she didn't notice Sasuke staring at her.

 _She would make a great mother._

"You can take off your shirt." Her gaze shifted to him as she continued. "You seem uncomfortable wearing it."

Wordlessly, he pulled the shirt over his head, carefully to not disturb the boy's sleep.

 _Caring, gentle, patient, loving…_

"So you can heal?" He asked, referring to the event earlier.

"Only slight injuries." She replied. "I'm not as good at healing as Sakura-san."

"Do you specialize in medical jutsu?"

"No," Perplexity fluttered across her face. Didn't she just tell him she could only treat slight injuries? "I specialize in tracking. My team is a tracking team."

"Then don't compare yourself to her." _Or anyone_.

Warmth seeped into her heart. Pink staining pale cheeks, she shifted her eyes to Daisuke because if she kept looking at him and made contact with his simmering eyes, those stains might burst into flames.

There were butterflies in her stomach and after a moment trying to compose herself from the giddiness, she lifted her gaze to him so he could see the gratefulness shining in her eyes. "Thank you, Sasuke."

She had fallen asleep soon after her thank you to him. His hand reached out, gently tucking an indigo strand behind her ear. She was beautiful, round face, thick eyelashes, pink lips, soft porcelain skin, long hair, and a pair of eyes that spoke loudly of her royal origin. Her beauty was that of a lady that came from a prestigious clan.

He would like his children to have a mother like her.

* * *

A mouth-watering aroma woke him up.

Open his eyes, he found himself alone in the bed, his old shirt folded neatly on the bedside table. He grabbed the shirt, quickly putting it on before getting out of the bed in search of the source of the wonderful aroma.

It was coming from the kitchen. The old man was sitting at the table, reading some newspapers. The boy was standing at the counter and from what Sasuke could see, he was having a hard time shaping the rice ball.

She was standing next to the boy, wearing a grey apron. Taking a few steps towards them, he could see Daisuke fuming in indignation at the rice ball and Hinata smiling encouragingly as she told him his rice ball looked cute.

"Oh, you're awake," She said as she noticed him.

"What are you making?" He asked, looking over her shoulders to see the content in the pot.

"It's miso soup," She replied, gently stirring the soup with a ladle. "I'm almost done."

She had made a rice ball as a sample for Daisuke to follow but the boy had given up on trying to shape the rice ball as perfectly as she did and decided to help her bring the complete dishes to the table instead. He had gotten more comfortable around Sasuke and even asked him how his sleep had been last night.

"Good." His curt reply didn't bother the boy much as he was busy to impress Hinata with how much he could help her. His face broke into a huge grin as she patted his head and praised him for being such good help and that she wouldn't be able to complete the breakfast without his help. Sasuke snorted discreetly. He could be of more help to her if she just woke him up and let him know she was making breakfast.

Sasuke took the boy's place beside her. Without a word, he washed his hands and started to shape the rice into balls. "This is how you make rice balls, kid," Sasuke said and when the boy gave him a look filled with admiration, he only smirked.

"You can cook?" Hinata said, couldn't hide the surprise in her voice.

"Only simple dishes." Not many people knew about this but he could do chores and cook well. Living alone for several years certainly had taught him a lot.

Once he completed the rice balls, he opened the cabin above her head, taking out some bowls, chopsticks, and spoons. Although it had been years since the last time since he had had breakfast on a table, he remembered how his mother had set their breakfast table like yesterday.

Their breakfast included steamed rice, miso soup, grilled fish, seasoned dried seaweed, fermented soybean, and rice balls. Her cooking was wonderful. It tasted like _home_.

It was something he didn't think he could ever have the chance to experience again but here he was, enjoying a home cook meal with people who actually wasn't scared of him and didn't deem him a monster. And it was a pleasant feeling.

Something stirred in his heart.

This was what he wanted. A family.

* * *

The rain had lessened but didn't stop.

She had been grinding and mixing some herbs to make some ointment for most of the day. It was lucky that Daisuke and his grandfather had gathered some herbs in the forest last week that she could use. The boy never left her side, simply watching her work and asking questions here and there.

They settled in the bed comfortably. She had offered to sleep with the boy again, much to Sasuke's dismay but fortunately, he declined. He had squared his shoulders, putting on a brave smile, and saying that he was a big boy and a big boy had to sleep alone.

Sasuke couldn't believe this was the same boy who had almost burst into tears when he came to whisk Hinata away last night.

He watched her, carefully and closely, a question bubbling in his throat. Their faces were only centimeters from each other. He knew she was asleep yet. Her heartbeat and breath weren't slow and steady enough, pink remaining on her pale cheeks.

"Hinata," His voice was deep and calm, despite the chaos inside him.

"Hm?" Her long eyelashes fluttered to reveal pearly eyes that could make him weak and do what he couldn't imagine himself doing before.

"Do you want me to return to the village?" He had never asked that question before. He did what he wanted and never need others' opinions. But now he wanted and needed hers. Her imminent answer partly scared him because he knew whatever she wanted him to do, he would do it for her. If him returning to the village was her wish, he could picture himself grudgingly do so. She had him in her grip and strangely, he didn't try to break free.

Confusion fluttered across her face, a _why_ question threatening to pass through her lips but she held it back. If it had been months ago, she would have immediately said yes, she wanted him to return to the village because that would make Naruto happy, but not anymore. It would be selfish.

"No, I don't want you to return to the village." Her answer was said in a soft and gentle voice that nearly made him frozen. He had expected a different answer, the one that was what Naruto wanted. It seemed his surprise had been written very clearly on his face as she quickly explained. "You hate Konoha and I don't want to stay somewhere you hate."

"Don't you want to make Naruto happy? If you can bring me back to Konoha, he will notice you, even give you a chance."

"A-About that…" She was suddenly aware of her racing heartbeat. Nervous would be an understatement as the words left her mouth. "I think I don't love him anymore."

"What did you say?" No, he could hear her clearly, he just wanted to hear it again.

"I said I don't love him anym…"

It was immediate. His lips were on hers, kissing her passionately. Her pale eyes widened in shock but it quickly waned off as she began to kiss him back. His tongue slid into her mouth, dancing with the shy one of hers. He bit her bottom lip, eliciting a soft moan before soothing her with a gentle lick at the exact same place. Her lips were soft, moist, rosy and eager for his kiss but that wasn't enough. He wanted more.

"Are you out of chakra?" Her voice was breathless between his kisses.

"No." He replied before giving her a playful bite.

"Then why? Why are you kissing me?"

"I want to." He kept his reply short because that way he would have more time to kiss her.

That was all needed to be said. As if to prove to her that he didn't kiss her for chakra, he left her mouth, trailing his lips down her neck. It was where she was most sensitive as just a light kiss from him and a shiver would ripple over her body, and he didn't plan on giving her just light kisses.

Her neck was just as beautiful as her lips. In fact, he couldn't find anything about her that wasn't beautiful. The porcelain skin glistened in the dim light, stretching elegantly as she turned her head to give him more access to her neck. Her pulse quickened, frantic under his lips with each bite and lick. His teeth left pink marks on her skin and when he looked at them, he felt nothing but proud. They were the proof that she was his only and he would gladly kill anyone who dared to say otherwise.

Her lips used to be enough, but not anymore. He was insatiate. He wanted all of hers. No part of hers should be left without his lips kissing it passionately. His lips worked magic on her skin, distracting her from the hands that were undressing her. Her jacket was thrown on the floor and her shirt soon followed.

Her bra was a simple white one, filled with bountiful mounds that he was dying to have a taste of. He quickly unhooked the bra, sliding the straps down her delicate shoulders before letting it join the clothes on the floor. He didn't attack her breasts right away but took his time to plant light kisses on her shoulders and collarbone. He was giving her time to back away from him and stop him. She never did.

His breath hitched in his throat as his eyes landed on her breasts, memorized. They were gorgeous with tiny rosy nipples that hardened under his intensive stare. The sight alone made his mouth water. No wonder she chose to wear baggy clothes.

He lowered his head to her breasts, kissing the supple flesh before taking the rosy nipple in his mouth. She gasped in surprise and then moaned, fingers tangling in his dark hair, caressing and stroking the soft strands which made him groan in delight. Not wanting to neglect the other breast, he squeezed and massaged it with his hand, fingers pinching the nipple to a hard peak. Her breasts were very sensitive if her desperate moans were any indication. He sucked hard, teeth biting and tongue licking, giving her immense pleasure.

Her back arched, pressing herself to him and he wondered if she was aware of what she was doing. Her hands left his hair, reaching under his shirt to caress and trace the taut muscle of his back. Her hands felt so good on his skin that he let out a groan in response.

Her mind was clouded with a fog of pleasure and desires. Kissing him on the lips was already good but this, what he was doing right now, was incredible. She couldn't stop herself from moaning when he ravished her breasts, giving her so much pleasure that she arched her back for him, fingers caressing his dark hair as she knew he loved it when she did that. As if feeling encouraging, he sank his teeth hard onto her skin, earning a squeak from the girl in both surprise and delight.

Something hard was touching her down there and strangely, she didn't feel embarrassed. In fact, she was glad she could excite him. It was hot and hard, pressing against her stomach for attention. Her hands were itching to touch it and feel for herself how much he wanted her but she was too shy to do so. Instead, she focused on the strong muscles under her palms, starting to think of how she could replace her hands with her mouth. She would like to give the same pleasure he was giving her.

She shyly lowered her pale eyes to watch him and the sight made her face burst into flame. His face buried in her breast, mouthing latching on the rosy nipple, pink tongue darting out for lazy licks. Feeling a little bold, she moved her hands from his back to run it across his chest, feeling the taut muscles there and shoving the shirt up in the process. He shuddered as her hands explored his body and a content smile graced her lips knowing that she had the same effect on him as he did her. Noticing her smile, he left her breasts to kiss her lips.

"You are getting bolder." He whispered, licking her lips playfully.

"Is that a bad thing?" She shyly asked.

"No. I like it." He chuckled and the sound startled Hinata a bit. This was the first time she had ever heard him laugh, though very quietly, she decided she liked it a lot and he should do it more.

She whined softly when his hands returned to her breasts, giving them a gentle squeeze before descending slowly. He trailed his lips to her flat stomach, kissing gently and giving a lick or bite here and there.

He couldn't get her out of her pants fast enough and when he finally did, the sight took his breath away. Clad in only a white pantie, she was a work of art that burned his blood with desires. Gorgeous would be an understatement. Plump lips, flushed cheeks, bountiful breasts with rosy nipples, long hair spreading beneath her, highlighting her porcelain skin… Everything about her memorized him. And she didn't love Naruto anymore. He didn't know how desperately he had longed for these words until now. Any restrained he had over himself had broken, setting the desires and craving he had for her free.

There was only one more thing that stood in his way. Staring at the pantie with distaste, he wasted no time in spreading her legs, lowering his head to her most private part. He could feel her nerves in the way her thighs trembled slightly in his hands. Wanting to ease her, he planted light kissed on her inner thighs, fingers caressing the soft skin and soon, she started to relax a little.

She was wet. He found himself staring at the damp patch on her pantie, clear evidence of her arousal. He buried his face between her legs, taking a deep breath, relishing in her sweet scent. When his lips touched her entrance over the thin fabric, she gasped, hands gripping the bed sheet desperately.

"Sasuke…" She whispered breathlessly. Propping her elbows on the bed, she rose a little, only to see his head between her legs, dark hair tickling her thighs.

Hearing her voice calling his name sent a shiver down his spine. His fingers hooked around the waistband of her pantie, ready to pull it down. Once it was pulled down, there would be no turn back.

What if this was an effect of the potion?

He froze.

His desires for her had made him forget about their situation. He realized he was doing exactly what Orochimaru wanted him to do in the first place, to sleep with her. What if she never stopped loving Naruto and this was simply the potion's doing? It took him a few moments to realize that he was scared, that once the effects of the potion waned off, she would look at him and feel nothing but resentment. She would hate him, be disgusted by him, and regret every moment spent with him.

But he knew he would never regret it. Even if these were effects of the potions, he couldn't deny that he had been happy. He couldn't remember the last time he had ever felt this content and at peace before meeting her. She freed him of his nightmares. She respected him enough not to constantly trying to solve his problems for him. She reminded him of his mother with the way she moved so gracefully, long hair that he just wanted to tangle his fingers into cascading her back in silky strands. Her cooking was amazing, bringing him memories of home. She stirred something that had been long forgotten in his heart.

Chaos erupted inside him. Right now he could make her his. Regardless of the potion, she wanted him just as badly as he did her. His member was rock hard, desperately wanting to be buried deep inside her while she moaned and screamed his name. But that wasn't enough. He wanted more. When he took her, he wanted both of them to be free of the potion. That way he could be sure that this was her who willing to give herself for him and not the potion controlling her.

Biting back a curse, he reluctantly raised his head. It was taking all of his willpower to force himself away from her. "Hinata," He whispered, fingers wove into her long hair. "I'm sorry."

"Sasuke…?" She said with some perplexity, and then something dawned on her. He didn't want her. Filled with embarrassment and shame, she turned her head away. She couldn't look at his eyes without feeling neglected and rejected. It hurt a thousand times more than anything she had ever experienced before. She knew by opening her heart for him, she was risking a chance of being hurt again and that was a risk she was willing to take so she couldn't blame anyone but herself. She hated this body, even when rejected it still longed for him, craving his touch and caress.

His hands caught her face, turning it to him. It pained him to see tears brimming in her pale eyes. Whatever she was having in her mind right now was not true at all. "No. It's not like what you think it is." He gently kissed her cheeks, her eyelids, her forehead, and lastly her lips. But before his lips could touch hers, she jerked away.

"Leave." Her voice cracked, the lump in her throat was making harder for her to speak clearly.

"Hinata…" He ignored her order, again trying to explain. "I want you, but I don't know if you really want me or it's just the potion."

"Just leave, please." She almost screamed at him. The gentle and kind Hinata he knew now could barely keep her calm. Tears streaming her face, shoulders trembling helplessly and hand moving aimlessly, she shoved him aside and covered herself with the blanket.

She felt him shift beside her. He just sat there for a while, waiting for her to calm down and come out of the blanket but when the lump that was her remained unmoving, he could only sigh. She was very stubborn when she wanted to.

Standing up, he collected her clothes on the floor, folding them neatly and putting them on the bed near her. He leaned in, kissing her over the blanket, taking in her sweet scent that he had become addicted to. He wished she could feel at least a little of his feelings through this kiss.

When he left the room, he knew there would be no sleep for him tonight.

* * *

 **A/N** : Okay, so I want to clarify something. Some of my readers asked why Sasuke was unsure of Hinata's feelings for him. It's him who took the potion, not her. I actually have addressed this in chapter 7 under Hinata's perspective. Because Sasuke knew that to fully recover his chakra, the potion would take 1/2 chakra from Hinata (this was mentioned in chapter 2), which led him to question if this was the only effect the potion has on her through him. Sure, she didn't take the potion, but it doesn't mean it can't affect her through contact with Sasuke. I hope this can help to clarify things for you guys.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

 **A/N** : Enjoy!

* * *

 **12**

Training had always been the best way for him to relieve stress, but anymore. As he channeled more and more chakra to his arm to form a chidori, he realized this was not going to work. No matter how many trees he burnt down, how many craters he created with his chidori, the heavy feeling in his chest wouldn't go away. In fact, it would only make things worse because the more chakra he used, the sooner he had to kiss her and with everything that had just happened between them, that would be her least favorite thing to do. Sasuke wondered since when he started to consider what she wanted and not his.

A part of him just wanted to run right back to her and explain everything but another part told him he should stay away, give her some time alone until she calmed down. Besides, right now, she didn't even want to see his face.

Her tears had left his heart constricted with an uncomfortable feeling. He had raked his brain for ways to comfort her but when he gazed into her pale eyes, the hurt there had been so great that he was speechless. That was when he realized no matter what he said she wouldn't listen.

But did he regret doing what he did? Absolutely not. If he were given another chance, he would do it again. She had been so beautiful and so willing to give herself to him that being able to restrain his most primitive urges had been a miracle in itself, but he was glad he managed to do it. Even now, with the cold wind blasting at his face and the temperature dropping, the heat in his body hadn't completely gone away.

Did it mean he loved her? His hands trembled violently at the thought. How could he dare to think of love when nearly all of his loved ones had died? As if it wasn't enough, he even had to always hurt people who loved and cared about him. He killed his brother, made Sakura cry, tried to kill Naruto countless times and now, hurt Hinata's feelings. It was a curse that he didn't even try to break… until now. No one was allowed to hurt her and that included him.

"My, my, I didn't expect to see you here."

Sasuke turned sharply at the gruff voice, avoiding a kunai hurling at him. His jaw locked tightly as he assessed his situation, realizing he was being surrounded and outnumbered. His Sharingan flickered in the dark as he leaned to the left, successfully avoiding the sword swung at him. The attacker didn't even have time to pull the sword out of the tree trunk where it had embedded itself in before Sasuke slammed his chidori down his back. Noticing his chidori was not as strong as he would like it to be, he let out a curse of frustration. Normally he would have no problem defeating even an army all by himself but now, this would be a tough fight because he was almost out of chakra.

He could count there were 30 of them, all armed with weapons and Sasuke wish he had brought his sword with him. It wouldn't be easy but he was sure he could win. What really bothered him was that if this was all of them or they had backups or worst, they had another team surrounding and attacking Hinata right now. Whatever the case was, he had to end this quick and return to her as soon as possible.

"Is this all of you?" This was one of the rare times he actually spoke in a fight. He usually kept silent and let his skills and power speak for themselves but now he needed to know if Hinata was in danger, just to ease the worry starting to settle itself in his chest a little.

"I'm glad you're almost out of chakra." One man, who he assumed was the leader, laughed and yes, he really had the gall to ignore the Uchiha's question.

"I asked you a question," Sasuke growled but not let the man had another chance to answer before he rapidly performed the necessary hand sighs to blow a fireball at him. He would just kill all of them and return to Hinata, there was no need for words right now.

The man barely dodged the fireball with his left arm burned a little. This didn't bother him at all. In fact, he was reveling. The fact that the fireball didn't kill him immediately was clear evidence that the Uchiha was not at his top strength. He would win this, his team could win this. They could lose some of their teammates or even everyone but who cared? A few lives were a small price if he could get his hands on Sharingan.

"All of you, kill him!" He shouted and all of them charged at Sasuke, swords drawn.

Sasuke easily avoided the first several swords coming at him, while slamming chidori at the attackers. The Sharingan had always been his top weapon, especially when being outnumbered but with his low chakra level, it began to become harder and harder to keep it activated. He could predict the movements of the attackers but the fatigue seeping into his bones didn't allow him to counter-attack effectively.

He cursed angrily as one of his fireballs missed its target and ended up destroying several innocent trees. These men were not to be underestimated. They were strong and they worked with each other perfectly. Over half of them were down but they didn't fear for their own fates or showed any grieve for their deceased teammates. They kept charging at him and attacking as if they were made for this fight only. Ironically, it reminded him of his teenage days when he was just as suicidal as them, but not anymore. Gone were the days when he thought he had no one. He had her now and he would return to her.

Pulling his arm out of the chest of the attacker, he didn't bother to shake his arm to remove the filthy blood before grabbing another attacker's neck and slamming him onto the ground, snapping his neck and killing him immediately. _Just 8 more of them…_ Putting all of them under genjutsu would be a quick way to end the battle, but it would require a lot of chakra and his priority right now was to reserve as much chakra as he could in case Hinata was facing the same problem as him.

Picking up the sword of one of the dead attackers at his feet, he threw it at the man who was charging at him and watched in satisfaction as the sword embedded itself into his chest, while simultaneously slicing the throat of another man with another sword. These swords were not theirs anymore. They were his now. _Just 3 more of them…_

One was down, burnt alive with his flame.

The next one was killed with a chidori plunged into his chest and the last one, the leader…

Sasuke flinched. He couldn't remove his arm from the man's chest. His eyes widened when the flesh around the hole of the man's chest started to solidify, trapping his arm. He was using his last breath to help his leader kill him.

 _Such a loyal bastard._ Sasuke cursed.

Quickly seizing this chance, the leader charged at him, sword clenched tightly in his hand. He wouldn't let his teammates die in vain.

Charging more electricity into his arm, Sasuke forcefully pulled his arm out, nearly tearing this man's chest into shreds. _Just one more…_

Sasuke realized he was one second too late. His hands couldn't make another chidori fast enough. His lungs were aching, refusing to blow any more fireballs. If using genjustu, there was a great chance he would pass out.

Blood splashed all over his front – the leader's blood. His hand clenched his left chest, face contorted in pain. That moment Sasuke realized how dangerous Hinata could be. He had always known of the gentle fist technique's reputation of delivering very painful deaths but this was the first time he actually witnessed it. She just touched the man's back with her palm and the next moment, he was a corpse lying in his own blood.

Sasuke didn't have time to whisper her name before dainty hands cupped his face, brushing some dark locks from his eyes. There were cuts on her arms, her face was pale, smudged with tear and blood, and her hair was a little tousled but in his eyes, she was the most beautiful creature in the world.

"Quick, kiss me!" She urged.

And he did. He kissed her with all he had. He didn't care about chakra anymore, all he wanted was to feel her soft lips against his and tangle his fingers into her long hair. Did he think kissing her felt good? It was more than that. It was a sense of belonging. He belonged to her only. She had complete control over him. She could have him for all she wanted and he wouldn't complain a word.

Sasuke paused when he felt something warm and wet coating his palm. It was a familiar feeling because he had felt it for most of his life. He had grown so accustomed to it that it rarely bothered him but this time, the panic was immediate.

Hinata slumped against him, face buried deep in the crook of his neck. The knife embedded deep into her back, nearly cutting through her spine. It stared back at him, as if mocking his inability to save her, and that he would never find happiness.

His eyes landed on the leader. He was smirking in victory. It was so satisfying to watch fear and hopelessness strike his features that his smirk didn't falter when the black flame started to engulf him. At least he could take this girl to hell with him. It was hard to believe, but it seemed the infamous Uchiha knew how to love.

Sasuke's body trembled violently. Memories of the massacre started to come back with vengeance. He was useless then and he was useless now. Clutching her limp body in his arms, he leaned in to kiss her forehead. "No," He whispered. "You can't die."

His palm pressed into her back, trying desperately to stop the bleeding. His brain couldn't function properly due to the sheer panic breaking out, but he wasn't willing to let her die. He had to do something, or she would bleed to death. Maybe the old man could help? Maybe he had some medical supplies or equipment that could keep her alive while he went looking for a medic.

"You can't leave me." He wasn't sure if she could hear him, but he wanted to assure her that they would stay with each other no matter what happened. Even if she died, he would soon meet her in heave five days later. He didn't think he deserved to be in heaven, but he would fight his way there just for her.

He shifted her a little in his arm, one arm keeping pressing onto the wound, while the other supporting her neck. He would bring her back to the old man's house, leave her there and then immediately go to find a medic. "Stay with me." He whispered for the last time, ready to start going now, but the sound rapid footsteps stopped him.

The rescue team froze at the scene. Bodies covered in blood dispersed everywhere, swords plunged into their chests, throats, and stomachs. And among them were the two people they had been looking for months.

Sasuke couldn't remember there was a time he was this relieved to see his teammates. His voice cracked and he didn't realize that he was practically begging.

"Save her."

* * *

Pale eyes fluttered open.

Her dainty hands tentatively touched her back where the pain had shot through the moment she gained consciousness. Although the pain was awful, at least it meant she didn't die… yet.

"Hinata!"

"Hinata-sama!"

The voices startled her. Looking around, she let out a small gasp as familiar faces came to view. There were Naruto, Kou, and Shino, all looking at her with relief washing over their faces. Tears pricked at her pale eyes, her lips twitched in an attempt to speak but her throat and mouth were too dry. Besides, the pain at her back was making her every task difficult, even something as easy as speaking.

She didn't realize how terribly she missed her friends and teammates until now. After months of not seeing them and especially with everything that had happened between her and Sasuke that night, her pale eyes started to brim with tears, despite her best attempt to hold it back. She had promised to herself to never cry over a man again but alas, it hurt so much. If it wasn't for Naruto being here, she would have dived into Kou or Shino's arms while crying her eyes out. Ignoring the unpleasant feeling of shame, hurt, and self-pity that was bubbling in her chest, the moment her throat started to work again, _his_ name was the only thing she could utter. "Sasuke?"

A groan escaped her mouth as she tried to get up. Not only did her back hurt but her head was also throbbing. She felt a hand touch her shoulder, gently pushing her back. "Hinata-sama, you can't get up yet." There was a sound of disapproval in Kou's voice that she had never heard before.

"Where is Sasuke?" Fear started to fill her as bad scenarios ran through her head. What if something had happened to him after she lost consciousness? Pale eyes looking around frantically, the urge to active Byakugan to search for him was so great but the throbbing in her head just didn't let her.

"He's in the room next to ours," Naruto said, believing it would be like the old time when he could always be the person bringing her relief but no, the look of worry on her face didn't change at all.

"How long have I been out?"

"Four days, almost five…" Naruto replied.

Her pale eyes widened in horror as she shot up, ignoring Kou's frantic attempt to get her lay down again. The pain at her back and the throbbing in her head was the least in her mind now. She didn't care if her head would explode or if her back would tear itself out, all she could think about was Sasuke was probably dying right now. He needed her, needed to kiss her.

Her body was moving on its own as her brain had given up on reasoning that she couldn't move yet. Her knees buckled and if it wasn't for Naruto and Kou rushing to hold her up she would have fallen flat on her face.

"Hinata, stop! You need to rest." It didn't even register to her that Shino was scolding her. Grasping Naruto's shirt, she tried to get him to understand the dire situation they were in. He was Sasuke's best friend, he had to.

"Where is Sasuke? I have to…"

The door slammed open so loud cut her off. Sakura rushed in with a worry expression she had never seen before. There were tears in her green eyes and she looked tired and distressed as if she hadn't been slept or eaten properly for days. "Naruto! Sasuke is… Oh Hinata, you're awake." That fact didn't seem to ease her at all. The distressed look in her face persisted, tears started to fall from her eyes, and Hinata thought she knew why.

"Bring me to Sasuke." She said firmly without any traces of stuttering or room for debate.

"What? No." Kou exclaimed. "Hinata-sama, you can't…"

"Or he will die." It was the nearest to a shout Hinata could summon. Then she looked straight at Sakura's eyes, trying to convey something she couldn't express by words. The medic must trust her, they must trust her.

"Hinata-sama, please, you…" Kou started again but was cut off by Naruto.

"Just trust her." It was said in a firm manner that Naruto rarely displayed. The exuberant boy had disappeared and in his place was the mature boy who always appeared when his friends were in danger. Sasuke's condition had been gotten worse in the last two days and if Hinata could help him, they must trust her.

"Don't worry. Sasuke is in no shape to hurt her." Not waiting for a response from Kou, Sakura gently took Hinata's hand and ushered her out. She didn't know how Hinata was going to help Sasuke, but something in the girl's eyes told her she was the only one capable of doing that.

The rest quickly followed with a tense air around them. Kou was beyond pissed. Just the idea of his lady in the same room with the Uchiha was enough to make him uncomfortable. Shino was silent, taking his time to observe everything. With his glasses and high collar, it was hard to decipher or even know what he was thinking.

Upon entering the room and seeing Sasuke, tears started to prickle at Hinata's pale eyes. She had expected no less, but seeing him on the verge of death with her own eyes was heartbreaking.

"Sasuke's chakra keeps depleting," Sakura explained. "I have tried transferring my chakra to him but his body just didn't accept it." She was sobbing now. The moment she saw him she knew something wasn't right with him. He didn't do any fighting or have any injuries but his chakra wouldn't stop decreasing. Even the Nine-Tailed chakra couldn't help. Naruto had shaken his head in dejection when he couldn't get Sasuke's body to accept his chakra.

Today was the worse. It had gotten so bad that he could barely move his body. She tried to ask him what had happened but he wouldn't say a word. All he said was take care of Hinata.

She remembered screaming at him that she did take care of Hinata. She had healed her to the best of her ability and her condition had gotten a lot better. She wouldn't die but he _might_.

She watched as Hinata's hands caressed his dark hair. The girl looked so forlorn that she would think the man who was on the verge of death was Naruto and not Sasuke.

"It's okay now," Hinata whispered. Her hands moved from his hair to cup his face, tilting it toward her.

Sakura expected Hinata to transfer her chakra to him as their two clans were far relative, thus his body was more likely to accept her chakra than anyone else. What she didn't expect was to see Hinata dip her face and let her lips touch his.

"Hinata-sama? What are you doing?" Kou exclaimed. He immediately went to stop her but Sakura quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"His chakra is recovering." She breathed, voice laced with surprise and disbelief. This was not how chakra transfer looked like. No. She didn't transfer anything. His chakra just recovered on its own. She couldn't understand why. Years of medical experience and she had never seen anything like this.

A few minutes passed by and when Hinata opened her eyes, dark pools were staring at her. She smiled meekly, flustered under his intense gaze. "U-Um… I…" She didn't get to spoke because he had already engulfed her in his arms, muffling any sound she might make.

He buried his face deep in her silky hair, arms circling gently around her waist. He could hear her heartbeat, feel her warmth, and smell her lavender scent. Until this moment he still remembered exactly how lifeless she had felt in his arms and how hopeless he had been. Just thinking about it made his entire body tremble violently in fear. His heart had been racing, his breath had been uncontrollable and his mind had been numbed. He couldn't remember the last time he had had a fear this great, probably since his clan's massacre. He had feared he would lose her.

"I thought I lost you." He whispered, pulling her flush against him. He didn't care if he needed her to survive, as long as she lived and it would be enough. Threading his fingers into her long hair, he gently cupped her face and looked at her pale eyes. A smile graced his lips and he could tell it took her aback a little. He rarely smiled after all.

She wasn't fully recovered yet. Her skin was pallid, her eyes puffy, probably from crying and she felt too fragile in his arms but to him she was the most beautiful creature in the world. He could look at her all day and wouldn't get bored. She stepped into his life, breached the walls he had built to prevent himself from getting attached and wouldn't leave. He didn't want her to anyway. In fact, he would beg her to stay.

"How do you feel?" He asked, thumbs caressing her cheeks. Leaning in, he was about to kiss her again but paused when she shifted a little to avoid him. A blush rose to her cheeks and her hands clasped together nervously.

"I'm f-fine." Her pale eyes moved from him to the side and he soon realized they were not alone.

Shino was the first one to recover from the shock. He stepped forward, pushing his glasses a little before speaking. "You should have a good explanation for this."

* * *

"So that's what happened?" Naruto grinned, putting his arms behind his head in his usual goofy manner. "And I thought there was something between you two."

"Lower your voice, idiot. She's sleeping." Sasuke scolded. After explaining everything to their friends, Hinata had retired to her room, saying that she was a little tired and needed rest. But before she could lie down, the little boy had barged in and thrown himself into her arms while crying his eyes out. As it turned out, Sasuke's suspicion had been correct. There had been two missing-nin teams and Hinata had had a hard time both fighting them and protecting Daisuke and his grandfather.

He had scolded the boy to let her rest and not bother her but Hinata, as motherly as she always was, had said it was fine and even offered him to sleep with her again. The boy didn't need to be offered twice and happily crawled under the cover to snuggle against her. Hinata then told him he could leave now and that made him frown. Was she avoiding him?

"Sorry… but really, you could have done it the simple way. Just return to the village and Granny Tsunade would help you."

"I hate that village." He bit out, sounding rather bitter.

"It's your home. We always want you back."

 _No. It's not._ He thought. When he thought of home, he could only think about her. And yes, Naruto was right about there was something between him and Hinata. After all, they nearly had sex and she was acting like it never happened. She was even avoiding him, but Sasuke wouldn't have it. They would need to talk soon, whether she wanted to or not.

"Man, I'm so hungry," Naruto said, hand holding his stomach. "I'm heading in. Grandpa is preparing some food."

"Just go," Sasuke said exasperatedly and couldn't be happier when the blonde boy immediately left without any words. His happiness was short-lived though when his female teammate appeared.

Sasuke sighed. This was something he had to deal with sooner or later.

"Can I, Sasuke?" Sakura asked, lifting a hand glowing with green chakra. What Sasuke and Hinata told them was hard to believe. She had studied hundreds of drugs but never heard or known of any drugs that had that weird effect but after all, Orochimaru was a sick bastard.

The annoyed look on his face told her he would refuse. Being examined was one of the things he hated most but he gave in at last, although very reluctantly. "Fine."

Sakura's hands hovered above his back, moved to his head, and then stopped near his chest. A frown marred her features as she concentrated deeply. "There was something in your chakra system that only responds to Hinata."

"Sakura, I…"

"She is more than that, isn't she?" She interrupted, not looking at him anymore but averting her gaze to somewhere else. "A mean for you to stay alive, I mean."

"If she dies, I die."

"That night you didn't look like you're afraid of death. You have never been. You looked like you're afraid of losing her."

"What do you mean?" He scowled, arms crossing in front of his chest.

"When I healed her, I found red marks on her neck and chest. Are they yours?"

"Just get into your point." He growled. It was getting more and more annoying. He was offended she asked if they were his. Of course, they were his. He was proud of them and would love to make them again. They looked lovely on her pale skin after all.

She let out a small laugh but it sounded joyless even to her own ears. She turned her head a little to look straight into his dark eyes – those eyes she wished that someday would look at her and see her more than a friend and a teammate. She knew she had his respect and appreciation but that never seemed enough.

Although Sasuke had never expressed any real interest in her, she always had a strong belief that she just needed to try hard enough, persistent enough, and never give up, he would eventually realize that she was the right girl for him but that belief had shattered into pieces and she could do nothing about it.

"Is this what you came for?" He pinched the bridge of his nose, exasperated. "To question the relationship between Hinata and me?"

"No." She shook her head, gaining a suspicious look from the man. "There is something I need to tell you."

"Say it."

"I will need a few more days but…" Her attention was on him completely because she wanted to see his reaction to the next thing she said. Whether it was his eyes widened, his lips pursed, or his browns frowned, she wanted to see it all. "Sasuke-kun, I can cure you."

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm sorry that things are not very clear in this chapter but I promise things will be much clearer in the next chapter :)

Fanfic recommendation (Part 2)

Serendipity by LuckyGem (Actually I recommend reading all of LuckyGem's stories)

I mean, this story is super duper good. I love every word of it. Just go read it and leave a comment for the author.


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